A Dance Of Fire And Ice
by Monster Abe
Summary: Tsukune has failed his high school entrance exams and has been depressed because of his girlfriend breaking up with him. After finding out about Yokai academy, he decides to give it a chance to make his parents happy. Little does he know of the adventures that await him, like a certain snow woman. Rated M for possible violent scenes and lemons. Tsukune x Mizore
1. Rainy Days

**Author's Note**

Hi there everyone. I'm a new FanFiction writer. Up until now, I've only read stories on , and I've finally decided that I want to give writing one a go. I won't try to put too much text before/after each chapter. I know as a reader that excessive author's notes can become _very _tiresome.

With that being said, I want to tell you all that this story will be a modification of the original Rosario + Vampire. There will be some OC characters that I'm in the process of developing, and there will be a few of the ones you know and love. I'll say now that I don't own any of the original characters, content, or any other property of the Rosario + Vampire series, and this work of mine is produced to be free of charge and for no personal gain of my own. Now please read and enjoy. I welcome all kinds of constructive criticism. I only ask that you remain civilized in doing so.

P.S.

I'm going to have to excuse myself for one major flaw in my writing: I absolutely suck at writing with Japanese honorifics. I may throw them in here or there where they seem natural, but I can't guarantee I'll always stick to them. I'll try to uphold some Japanese standards like names being in the order of family name and given name.

**Update 8/6/2014**

Hey everyone. I made a few changes to the format of this chapter. I was told of a very large mistake I was making in my grammar and immediately wanted to go back and proofread everything. No major plot changes here, just updates for the sake of future readers and re-readers.

Chapter 1: Rainy Days

Tsukune sat in his classroom a few minutes after the bell rang. He was staring out the window as if waiting for something amazing to happen.

"Tsukune? Are you listening to me?" his teacher asked him, finally breaking through Tsukune's trance.

Snapping out of the lull he was just in, Tsukune immediately responded "I'm sorry, Ikeda-sensei. I'm a little out of it today." Immediately after saying that, a lesser version of the lifelessness that he recently wore washed over his face.

Tsukune's teacher looked at him, clearly worried about his student. "Listen, Tsukune. I know things have been rough for you recently. There's the matter of you not passing any of your high school entrance exams, and then there's your recent breakup with Ame. I know your parents must be worried. I just want you to know that there's always hope. You'd be surprised what happens when you least expect it."

At the mere mention of his ex-girlfriend's name, Tsukune immediately felt the weight over an oversized anvil on his shoulders. He had been so happy with her, and she left him without even batting an eyelash. She'd never been like that before…

**Six Months Earlier**

"Hey Yuji, who's that girl over there?" Tsukune asked his friend as he gestured toward a girl with long black hair that sat by herself in one of the unoccupied corners of the cafeteria.

"Who, her? That's Miyamoto Ame. She's just some depressed looking girl who sits in the back of class. She doesn't talk much and she's kind of creepy looking. I always get this feeling like I'm sad whenever I'm near her. But, she's also pretty cute. At least she's got that going for her." Tsukune's friend Yuji said, as Tsukune became more infatuated with the girl's presence. "Oh… OH! You've got the hots for dark-and-dreary over there, don't you?" Yuji exclaimed.

With a frenzy of hand waving and a blush darker than a fire-hydrant, Tsukune replied "Of course not! It's just that she seems kind of lonely. If she's not some kind of bully or something, there's no real reason why she shouldn't have friends."

With that, Tsukune picked up his lunch tray and made his way over to the table where the dark-haired girl sat by herself.

"Is this seat taken?" Tsukune approached the table in a very calm manner.

In a state of shock, the girl meekly replied "No… please, help yourself." Tsukune sat down across from her. As he sat down, he took a chance to briefly study her. She was very fair skinned with jet black hair. She had a mysterious tone to her look that made her kind of cute.

"My name is Aono Tsukune. What's yours?" Tsukune asked, fully aware of what her name was. However, he wanted to be a gentlemen and formally introduce himself.

The girl replied softly "My name is Miyamoto Ame… it's a pleasure to meet you Aono Tsukune. Are you here to make fun of me, like the rest of our classmates?" she asked in a monotonous manner.

Baffled, Tsukune replied "Of course not! I don't approve of the bullying that some of our classmates do! I wanted to come over here and ask if you'd like to be friends." Ame then wore a look of surprise on her face that seemed very unlike one that matched her disposition.

"Oh. That's definitely something I don't hear too often. You really want to be friends?"

"Absolutely. You seem like a nice enough person, and I can never have enough friends!" Tsukune replied with a large smile on his face.

She found his smile to be very endearing. "I'd be glad to be friends with you, Aono Tsukune. It's been a while since I've had someone to talk to."

**5 Days Before Current Time**

In a dark corner of the school gymnasium, Ame dragged a boy from her class by the wrist. Finally she stopped and the boy asked her in a concerned voice "Ame, what are we doing here? Is everything okay?"

In a lustful manner, Ame pressed herself against Arata and pushed him against the wall. "Listen Arata. I know you've been staring at me ever since Tsukune asked me out. I've taken notice to it, and I think it's kind of hot."

Arata could not believe his ears. He had been one of Tsukune's classmates for a few years now, but this was the first time he was ever actually jealous of that noodle of a guy. "Ame… it's true that I think you're cute. But Tsukune's done nothing wrong to me and I wouldn't want to come between you two like... mmph!" A mumbling came from Arata's lips as Ame pressed hers against his.

As she pulled away from him, Arata wore a look of confusion on his face. Arata thought that Ame was a pretty attractive woman, and wouldn't say no to a kiss from her. However, he was still concerned. "Ame, what was that about!? You have a boyfriend!"

"I've been thinking about it for a while, and I'm come to the conclusion that I can basically have any guy I want now. All I needed was a little friend to get myself out of the little rut I was in. Now that I've actually been happy, all of the guys have been noticing me. I have to say, the attention has been nice."

Arata was baffled. She had been using Tsukune this whole time. The poor guy probably didn't even know.

XXXXXXXXXXX

From behind a door adjacent to the gymnasium, Tsukune had been passing by and heard all of this take place. He sat at the base of the door dejectedly, looking as if he'd been witness to his own family's murder.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Listen Ame, I've got to go. You're a really pretty girl and everything, but I don't feel good about this. Tsukune and I are friends, and the last thing I want to do is hurt him. I'll see you later." Arata said as he left the gymnasium.

Standing there with a wicked grin running across her face, Ame left the gym holding her head high, as if she just accomplished some noble feat. Unknown to her, she passed by Tsukune sitting on the floor who made his presence known immediately.

"Ame… how could you do this to me?" Tsukune uttered as he sat there in his misery. He could hardly stomach looking at her. She was his first girlfriend. At least, he thinks they were going out. At this point, he didn't know if he was her boyfriend, or just a toy for her own amusement.

Honestly shocked, Ame stopped and turned to Tsukune. "Oh, Tsukune… I'm guessing you heard all of that, huh? I guess there's no need for me to continue this little innocent-girl façade anymore."

The look of disgust only growing more severe on his face, Tsukune got up and looked directly at Ame. "So, what happens now?"

"I'm breaking up with you." Ame replied in a stoic manner.

As if being hit with an arrow, Tsukune flinched at the reception of the statement. "Well, I guess I should've seen that coming. If anything, I should've probably tried to say it first." Tsukune said, trying to force a harsh chuckle from himself.

Ame was beginning to appear bothered. "Listen, don't stand here and wallow in your shame. It's actually starting to depress me a little bit." As she mentioned that, it began to rain heavily outside one of the nearby windows. It was coming down really hard. "You need to realize that you've got no spine. If you want to last in the world, you're going to need to develop some sort of back bone. I promise that I won't be the last person to hurt you in your life."

None of these words helped him. Tsukune only grew to hate himself more as he stood there, receiving her verbal onslaught. "I'll give you this though, Tsukune. You're a nice guy. Nicer than I thought anyone could be without going insane. Or maybe that's your secret, that you're actually insane and really good at hiding it…" she trailed off, and resumed her main point. "Whatever. We're through. Oh, and good luck on your exams." Like that, Ame was gone. She disappeared down the hall and out the front doors of the school.

**Present Day**

Tsukune had neglected his studies the week before exams because of his break-up. Because of this, Tsukune failed his high school entrance exams and had no idea what he would do for his first year of high school.

"Tsukune, you've just got to keep your chin up. Do that and I promise something good will happen," Ikeda-sensei said before dismissing himself from the classroom.

"I guess he's right." Tsukune then got up from his desk and made his way home.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was raining again. It rained a lot these past few days. "Perfect weather for the mood, I suppose…" Tsukune muttered to himself as he walked down the street towards his home. He didn't even attempt to cover his head with anything. He was completely unprepared for the weather. He just let the rain fall onto him, not attempted to cover his head with his bag.

As Tsukune entered the front door of his home, he stated in a very low voice "I'm home…" Immediately his mother came running out of the kitchen to greet her son.

"Tsukune! Welcome home. How was your day?"

"No better than the rest of them." He muttered, clearly showing that he's not in the mood to speak.

"Oh, okay then. Well, dinner won't be ready for about another hour, so you should go upstairs and lie down. I'll call you down when it's ready."

"Okay mom, thanks." He managed to utter before dragging himself up the stairs. Tsukune crossed the threshold of his door, threw down his bag and collapsed face down onto his bed. He sat there and contemplated. _What am I going to do now?_ He thought to himself long and hard about where his future was going to take him. He hadn't been accepted to any schools, and he felt like he had no purpose in life. "Maybe I'll just get a job at the convenience store or something. I can't suck at that too, can I?" he said in a muffled tone with his face buried in a pillow.

In spite of his mind wandering at 100 kilometers per hour, he quickly dozed off into a deep sleep. As if but not moments later, he heard his mother shout up to him.

"Tsukuuuune! Dinner's ready! Come down here!"

He let out a dejected sigh. "I was just getting comfortable too… oh well. At least mom's cooking is always good."

As Tsukune descended the stairs of his home, he saw his mother and father in the living room, dancing with each other as if they were in the middle of an elegant ballroom.

"Oh Koji, thank goodness! I was getting really worried too!"

"I know my dear. Thankfully, luck truly smiled on us this great evening as it was willing to give our boy a second chance." Tsukune's father, Koji said in an exaggerated manner.

"Mom, dad, what's going on here?" Tsukune inquired as to why his parents were so excited.

"Tsukune! Excellent news! Your old man here has found a way for you to go to school without needing to pass any exams!" said Tsukune's father.

"Oh, really? I guess that's nice. I was about to run down to the store to get a job application."

"What?! I'll have no son of mine work at a lousy convenience store! You've got a second chance at life now. All you need to do is take it." Tsukune's father said, as he gestured a pamphlet towards his son.

Tsukune reluctantly took the pamphlet and gave it quick read over. "Yokai academy, huh? That's a funny name." Tsukune mumbled to himself. "Dad, where did you get this?"

"Ah, yes. About that… your old man found it on the ground in an alley as I was on my way home. Some funny looking priest dropped it as he was stumbling. He clearly had a few too many this evening, and now we will too!" Tsukune's father exclaimed, as he went back to dancing with his wife.

"But dad, I'm under age…" Tsukune trailed off as he realized his parents stopped paying attention to him.

"Oh Koji, you're the best father in the whole world. And an even better husband, if I may add." Tsukune's mother said as she looked deep into her husband's eyes.

Tsukune was completely oblivious to the romantic scene taking place in his living room. He was lost in thought about attending this school, and thought back to what his sensei said earlier today. _I guess Ikeda-sensei was right, again. I suppose I'll give this a shot. It's more for them than it is for me, at this point_. He thought as he noticed how happy it made his parents that he would still be attending school. Shortly after focusing back on the scene going on in his living room, Tsukune quickly exclaimed "C'mon guys! I shouldn't have to see you two doing that! What happened to dinner?!" as he witnessed his father performing a ballroom dance-style dip with his mother.

_I guess I should try to be a little more excited. _Tsukune thought to himself as the lightheartedness of the evening took his mind off of why he was so upset earlier.


	2. Rainy With a Chance of Hail Storms

**Author's Note**

Hey there everyone. I want to thank every one of you readers for giving my story some of your time, and for the really positive words I've gotten so far. That being said, please feel free to PM me if you have any questions that I can answer without giving anything away - and I encourage anyone who enjoys my story to leave a review! I appreciate any and all constructive criticism/feedback.

Also, if anyone's wondering if this story has _anything _to do with Game of Thrones because of the title, the answer is no. If I do pull any kind of inspiration from George R. R. Martin's masterpiece, it's purely coincidental, unless otherwise noted. But do know, the title _does_ have a meaning!

**Update 8/6/2014**

Hey everyone. I made a few changes to the format of this chapter. I was told of a very large mistake I was making in my grammar and immediately wanted to go back and proofread everything. No major plot changes here, just updates for the sake of future readers and re-readers.

Chapter 2: Rainy With a Chance of Hail Storms

_This is what I get for being early._

Tsukune had been standing up at the bus stop for about ten minutes. He wasn't looking forward to going to school in the first place. Tsukune's mother had woken him up nice and early to make sure he didn't miss the bus.

_I really hope the bus doesn't show up so that I have a reason to not go._

As if on cue, the bus that would haul Tsukune off to school came around the bend and stopped in front of him. Tsukune let out a sign and faced his fate. _Well, I can't say that I didn't expect this._

"All aboard for Yokai academy. All aboard…" said the bus driver in a very eerie tone as he started at Tsukune.From underneath his driver's cap, Tsukune could see those bright eyes of the bus driver staring into his very soul, as he took a puff from his cigar.

"Holy hell, this guy is scary looking." Tsukune muttered under his breath as he boarded the bus.

"D'you say something, kid?" snapped the bus driver.

"N-No sir!" Tsukune snapped to attention and answered.

"I thought so…" the bus driver said as he chuckled in a very unsettling manner.

Something was seriously wrong with this guy. Tsukune did not like the vibe he got off of the bus driver at all. But he wouldn't let it get to his head. He took his seat next to a window in the middle of the bus. The bus was empty, surprisingly. _At least I don't need to have that awkward moment where I meet the friend that'll keep me company all throughout school_ Tsukune thought to himself. He let out another apathetic sigh as the bus made its way to the academy.

"Hey kid, are you a new student at Yokai Academy?" the bus driver said in his normal creepy tone.

_Great, he's trying to make small talk. This should be reallllll interesting._

Tsukune decided to go along with it. "Yes sir, I'm a new first year."

"Heheheh, well you'd best be careful and prepare yourself. Yokai is a verrrry horrifying school." The bus driver said as he let out a very unnerving laugh. They were approaching a very large tunnel that would presumably take them to the academy.

Why on earth would this guy say that to me? Was he purposely trying to freak me out? That's just great. _If everyone is as welcoming as him, I'm in for a real treat._

After about fifteen minutes of silent driving through the tunnel, the bus emerged on the other side. Tsukune stared out the window with a look of bewilderment on his face. "What is this place? This looks nothing like it did on the other side of the tunnel!" Tsukune said out loud. The sky was a much darker color, and there was nothing but barren wasteland as far as he could see. There were trees, but they were all decrepit.

As Tsukune stepped off of the bus, he turned back to face the bus driver and asked in a frantic manner "What is this place? Where am I?!"

"Welcome to Yokai Academy. This is as far as I can take you. The main building is right down the road through the forest. Be careful, kid. Hehehehe…" Tsukune could hear the bus driver chuckling as he closed the doors and pulled away.

Tsukune was left standing there with nothing but the scarecrow holding the bus schedule to keep him company. _This is perfect. I'm scared out of my mind on the first day, and class hasn't even begun yet. _

Reluctantly, Tsukune began making his way down the path indicated by the bus driver. The road was littered with dead plants, tombstones and real human skulls. _Seriously, what the hell is going on here?_ As Tsukune continued, he was mocked by the sound of crows watching him from the branches above his head. This was scarier than anything he had ever seen in his life.

A moment later he heard a ringing not too far away. It sounded like someone was coming right towards him on a bicycle, but he couldn't place where it was coming from. From the brush on the side of the path emerged a bicycle whose rider appeared to have lost control. Tsukune quickly jumped out of the way to avoid being pummeled, and heard the bicycle make contact with a tree nearby. As soon as he gained his footing, he ran over to assist the young woman ride who appeared to be hurt on the ground.

"Whoa! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Tsukune asked hysterically as he held out his hand to help her up. She gladly accepted his gesture and rose to her feet.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Thank you for helping me up. My name is Akashiya Moka. What's your name?" the young girl with cotton candy colored pink hair asked.

As Tsukune prepared to answer her, he took a moment to appreciate the beauty that stood in front of him. _She's gorgeous!_ "Uh, um… oh! My name is Aono Tsukune! I'm sorry, I hope I wasn't staring."

The girl giggled lightly and responded "Nice to meet you Aono Tsukune. Please don't flatter me too much, you're going to make me blush" as she held her hands to her face.

After gaining his composure, Tsukune asked Moka "So what were you doing out here?"

"Oh, I was just on my way to school. Are you a student at Yokai Academy as well?" she queried Tsukune.

He didn't notice until now, but she was wearing the same uniform as him (save for the skirt). "Oh yes, I'm a new first year. How about yourself?"

Moka's face lit up light a Christmas tree. "I'm a new first year as well! Would you like to be friends? I don't have any friends yet, here."

"Sure, Moka. That'd be nice." Tsukune replied. No sooner did he realize how familiar this situation felt. The pretty girl who's always by herself who wants to be friends with him. Immediately after realizing this, a look of dread washed over Tsukune, and it was immediately apparent to his new friend.

"Tsukune, are you okay?" Moka asked Tsukune shyly.

He didn't want to be in the same situation as before. This girl was just as- if not more beautiful than his ex-girlfriend, and he didn't want to fall for her just to be crushed again. "Ah, yes. Sorry Moka. I'm fine. I just had a pain in my stomach." Tsukune said as he wiped his face to resume his normal look.

"Alright then! Do you want to get going to the opening ceremony?" Moka asked brightly.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea. Let's get going. Walking alone in the forest was beginning to give me the creeps, anyway." Tsukune answered. They proceeded to walk down the road towards the main auditorium of the school.

_I've only been off the bus for ten minutes and I've almost been run over. _Tsukune had a feeling that this was going to be a very eventful day. He wasn't necessarily wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After about ten minutes of walking from where they met, the two students arrived at the Yokai Academy auditorium.

Tsukune stood in awe as he took in the sight. This place was absolutely huge and really gothic looking. "I didn't even know buildings like this existed anymore. It looks really old, don't you think Moka?" Tsukune asked, only to realize that Moka wasn't standing by his side anymore. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. "I figured as much. Another pretty girl I met and all she did was leave me alone. At least I didn't get attached this time."

Tsukune continued forward to begin looking for a seat. He found a few empty seats on the end of a row in the aisle. _Perfect, now I won't need to sit next to anyone and have a conversation. _Tsukune promptly took a seat on the end of the aisle and awaited the assembly to start.

As soon as Tsukune got comfortable in his seat, he felt a chill move down his spine. _Why is it so cold all of the sudden?_

"Sorry, that's probably me" said a very soft voice from beside Tsukune.

Tsukune almost jumped out of his own skin when he realized that there was a girl sitting next to him. There were plenty of open seats, and she chose the one directly next to him.

"I tend to have that affect." She stated simply as she turned to meet Tsukune's gaze. _She's absolutely mesmerizing. _Moka may have been beautiful, and this girl was too, but this one was also captivating. The way she carried herself and looked was one that just grabbed Tsukune's attention. _Snap out of it. You've been here an hour and you've already oogled at two different women. Show a little composition! _He thought to himself as he was still staring.

"You looked kind of lonely, so I decided to come sit by you. I hope that's not a problem, Mr…" she trailed off, waiting for a proper introduction.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Aono Tsukune. What's yours?"

"Nice to meet you Aono Tsukune. My name is Shirayuki Mizore" she said calmly as she looked at him with a deep gaze. She wasn't wearing the standard uniform. Instead, she was wearing a white sweatshirt with black sleeves, a blank tank top underneath, long purple and white striped socks, the standard checkered skirt, and a leather belt around her leg. She definitely had a unique sense of style.

"Are you done staring yet?" Mizore said stoically to Tsukune.

Snapping out of his daze, Tsukune was deeply embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" he exclaimed as he pleaded for forgiveness.

Mizore let out a small giggle at his reaction. "It's alright" she replied calmly.

Tsukune, having gathered himself together, asked "So Mizore, are you a first year at Yokai as well?"

"Well, that would make sense, since I'm at the first-year opening ceremony." She replied with a subtle sarcastic grin creeping across her face.

_Great move nimrod. You may as well have asked her if she was enjoying the weather._

"And yes, I'm enjoying today's weather. However, I could stand for it to be a bit cooler…" she answered, as if reading his mind as she trailed off into thought.

_Holy shit that was creepy. Maybe I should stop having these internal monologues. _

"Tsukune, as much fun as I'm sure it is having those inner monologues, I believe we should pay attention to the stage. It looks like the headmaster is about to speak." Mizore said calmly as the auditorium started bustling in preparation for the speech.

"How are you … never mind. Let's see what he's got to say." Tsukune said, baffled.

A figure in a white robe approached the stage to stand in front of the microphone. With a single raise of his right hand, silence fell over the entire auditorium.

"Good morning and welcome, students. My name is Mikogami Tenmei. I'm the headmaster of Yokai Academy. I'd like to thank you all for choosing to attend this wonderful school. As I'm sure you're all aware, it's imperative that we all develop the ability to coexist with humans in the world so that we may achieve a silent peace. Please respect the rules I have set in place, and remember that you're always to appear in human form while on campus. With that all said and done, please enjoy your time here. You're dismissed." The entire student body then began moving as to get to their homerooms.

"What the hell was that all about? Mizore, is it just me or does he sound off his rocker? What's this about human forms? I feel like he may have read a few too many manga or something." Tsukune asked with a huge look of confusion on his face.

Mizore turned to face Tsukune, and plainly began speaking "What do you mean what does he mean? This is a school …"

"Tsukune! Tsukune! Is that you?!" a female voice carried over the crowds towards Tsukune and Mizore.

"What the hell? Where do I know that voice from? I don't know anyone at this school." Tsukune asked out loud. And then it hit him. _Are you serious?_

She couldn't be here. There was just no way fate was that cruel. I could go to school with anyone else in the world and it wouldn't be this bad.

"Tsukune! I thought that was you. What're you doing here?" the girl asked Tsukune inquisitively.

"Hi there… _Ame_… I go to school here. It was all I could do after I failed all of my exams. What about you?" Tsukune asked as if he was being forced to with a gun pointed at his head.

"Tsukune, do you know this girl?" Mizore asked him with an absent minded and confused look on her face.

"Know me? Hell, he used to date me. Who're you?" Ame asked in a cocky tone.

"I'm Shirayuki Mizore." She responded coldly.

"What're you doing here Ame? You had excellent grades and could get into any school you wanted to." Tsukune asked apathetically.

"What do you mean? While it's true that I had great grades, isn't it kind of obvious that I'd come here? What about you, what kind of monster are you that you'd come to this school?" Ame asked demandingly.

_What kind of monster am I? Do I really mean that little to her, that she'd openly belittle me like that?_

Before Tsukune could answer her, the bell indicating that homeroom would start in five minutes went off loudly.

"Well, I guess this will be a conversation for another time. I guess I'll see you later, Tsukune, Mizore." Ame bid farewell as she strolled away.

_I don't think this day could possibly get any worse, _Tsukune thought to himself as Ame walked away.

"You're probably right, Tsukune. That was pretty bad. What happened between you two?" Mizore piped up and asked.

"If it's alright with you, I'd rather not talk about it right now…" Tsukune said as he trailed off. There's absolutely no way that my luck could be this bad. Well, if you consider how things have been, I guess that's not entirely true. Maybe I'll just take the next bus home and drop out. _That convenience store job is looking pretty nice right about now. _Tsukune made his way to homeroom, with Mizore in tow.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune sat down at his desk, and Mizore sat in the one behind him.

"So Mizore, why are you following me?" Tsukune asked.

Mizore tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "Well, you seem interesting. I figured I'd tail you for a while." She was genuinely interested in him just because he seemed to have more to his story than simple drama. Well, it was probably drama for the most part, but he seemed like a special person. That seemed like reason enough.

Meanwhile, Tsukune was blushing at the thought of a girl finding him interesting.

"Okay class, settle down and get into your seats!" their teacher said as she entered the room.

"My name is Nekonome Shizuka. But you all can just call me Ms. Nekonome. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year. Now as all of you must already know, this is a school for Monsters to learn how to blend in with humans in society. As the headmaster said this morning, you must all remain in your human forms at all times while on campus."

Tsukune felt like he went over the edge. _What the hell did she just say? Monsters? This has got to be some joke, right? _Tsukune began to shake violently in a manner that went unnoticed unless you paid special attention to him, like a certain girl sitting behind him did.

Mizore was curious as to why he was getting so worked up over this simple class introduction. _He's acting so strange… could he possibly be… no, there's no way._

The door to the classroom slid open. Two young women were standing at the door and made their way in. In unison they both said "Sorry we're late sensei!"

Tsukune knew the first girl who walked in. It was Moka, standing there with the attention of the entire male portion of the class focused solely on her. Tsukune knew the second girl who walked in behind Moka.

It was Ame.

_Seriously? I guess I was wrong. Things could and did get worse._

**Author's Ending Note:**

So that's chapter 2! I tried to make this one a little longer. I think I may be getting to a good chapter length without feeling like I'm dragging them out too much.

I feel kind of bad for introducing two major characters in the same chapter, but it's just the way things happened. However, Moka's not really going to be a huge character in my story. I'll try to update the story as frequently as possible. I've got big long term goals for this, so expect at least ~25 chapters. However, I'm also going back to school in the fall, so my writing rate may drop off suddenly. Don't worry, if I don't say anything, then I have intention of continuing the writing. If something truly bad happens and I stop writing this, I'll make a chapter to solely announce that.

Once again, leave some feedback and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	3. Coming Clean

**Author's Note**

Hey there readers! I'm excited that you guys have been receiving the story so well. It makes me all the more excited to write the coming chapters. Please, keep the opinions and feedback coming through the reviews. Without further delay, enjoy chapter three! Get read people, this is a longer one!

**Update 8/6/2014**

Hey everyone. I made a few changes to the format of this chapter. I was told of a very large mistake I was making in my grammar and immediately wanted to go back and proofread everything. No major plot changes here, just updates for the sake of future readers and re-readers.

Chapter 3: Coming Clean

The two ladies made their way into the class elegantly. Ame was confident in her looks, and with good reason. She was an attractive and slender girl with jet black hair. She was looking forward to being the idol of her classroom after appearing "fashionably-late". What she didn't account for was the pink haired princess making her way into the classroom before her, stealing the attention of the entire male portion of the class.

_How're they attracted to this hussy? She's not that special. I'm much better looking than her _Ame thought as she entered the classroom to introduce herself.

"Hello ladies! Please introduce yourselves to the rest of the class, meow!" Ms. Nekonome said in a bright tone.

"Hello everyone, my name is Akashiya Moka. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Moka said with confidence. Her eyes scanned over the classroom for anyone she may know, and a look of excitement grew on her face as she laid eyes on Tsukune. She was happy that she had a friend to spend homeroom with. Meanwhile, the whole class was obsessing over Moka and her cute introduction that left her blushing.

Ame was not happy with this. Too impatient to wait for the class to stop fawning over sweet Moka, Ame went ahead and introduced herself. "My name's Miyamoto Ame, would you all please take great care of me?" she said with a tone and look of lust. In any other situation, she would have had men groveling at her feet, but she was about as noticed as a fly on the wall. In a fit of silent rage, Ame made her way to an open seat _next to Tsukune._

Meanwhile, Tsukune was cringing at the whole debacle unfolding in front of him. _Is Ame coming to sit next to me? She really must hate me, doesn't she?_ As Ame sat herself down, Tsukune sunk more into his chair, as if his body had turned into jelly. Next Moka made her way to the seat directly in front of Tsukune. He was boxed in with Moka in front, Ame on his right, and Mizore behind him. The only non-female companion Tsukune had in class was the window to his left.

Mizore was witness to the subtle scene Tsukune was making, and it only made her more curious. _He must really hate this girl to loathe being around her so much. Maybe she hurt him… _Mizore thought to herself as she stared a hole into the back of Tsukune's head.

A large hand shot up into the air in the middle of the classroom, desiring to ask the teacher a question. Ms. Nekonome took a moment to look at her seating chart, and called on the student. "Yes, Komiya Saizou?"

"Yeah teach, I've got a question. Why should we have to learn how to coexist with humans? They're weak little animals that are good for nothing but feeding us," Saizou said as he let out a terrible laugh, encouraging the cooperation of his classmates. Saizou wasn't small by any means. He was a pretty sturdily built guy. His figure was very well suited for that of the class bully.

"Well Mr. Komiya, we need to coexist with humans because they outnumber us about six thousand to one. And they've got very strong weapons. They could easily wipe us out if we waged an open war on them," Ms. Nekonome responded in a less bright tone than her normal one.

Saizou brushed off the logical explanation and continued to speak. "Well, all this talk of humans has gotten me awfully hungry, and I could swear that I've been smelling one all day. If I saw one, I'd immediately proceed to eat it" Saizou said eerily as he scanned the room as to prod a reaction out of someone. He had the desired effect on Tsukune, who began to stare straight forward with eyes wider than a canyon, shaking more visibly now.

Ms. Nekonome looked a little worried now. "Well, it's not possible that you've been smelling a human because we've got our great barrier over the school, preventing their entrance. And even if a human did make it in here, they'd be killed immediately to preserve our secret existence"

That last statement was the last theoretical nail in the coffin for Tsukune. He had to get out of here if he wanted to live. If Mizore was going to notice any of the reactions from Tsukune during these large announcements, it was that last one. _This is getting very interesting… I'm going to pay extra close attention to him._

Ame wasn't ignorant of Tsukune's sudden stiffness either. She was more than aware of his depression, but that was no reason for him to look like he'd seen a ghost. She had a couple of questions she wanted to ask her ex-boyfriend. But that would have to wait for after school.

The rest of the day served to be very uneventful. Most of Tsukune's classes were just orientations and giving out syllabi. At the end of his last period, Tsukune was approached by Moka as he was on his way out of the classroom. "Hey Tsukune, do you want to take a walk around the grounds right now? Maybe we could get to know the area a little better, and talk some," Moka asked with a very innocent smile across her face.

Tsukune waged a war inside of his brain. He could risk trying to decline and look suspicious, or maybe he could try to take this walk and get to know the situation he's in a little better. Moka seemed very understanding. Maybe she wouldn't kill him on sight if she learned of his humanity. Finally, Tsukune answered her. "Sure, Moka. That sounds like fun. Let's get going." The two then made off for the grounds outside of the academic building and the student dorms. However, the two students were not alone. From three distinct hiding spots, Ame, Mizore, and Saizou all watched the two students leave for the forest. All three of the stalkers continued to watch their prey from a distance, completely unaware of the other stalkers.

As Tsukune and Moka approached the woods, they could both feel the eeriness that was emitted from the surroundings. Finally, Tsukune piped up and said "So, Moka, how do you feel about humans? They sound pretty bad from what I heard in class."

Moka was taken off-guard by the question. "Well, I have known a few nice humans in my life, but most of them have been very mean to me. When I went to school in the human world, they always made fun of me for being so different, and would tease me whenever they got the chance."

Tsukune was visibly upset to hear she was treated in such a way. Moka noticed the look on his face and began to speak again.

"Please don't worry. It's not a problem anymore. I'm here where people won't make fun of me for being a monster."

"Now that I think about it, what kind of monster are you, Moka? You look perfectly normal to me," Tsukune asked in complete ignorance that every monster was capable of manifesting a human form.

As the words left his lip, a breeze blew past Tsukune in the direction of Moka and their three stalkers. They all caught a strong waft of Tsukune's scent. Ame didn't know anything special about it, but both Saizou and Mizore knew what that was. Tsukune was definitely human. He had to be. That would explain his reactions in class.

"Mmm… Tsukune, you smell really good…" Moka said as she leaned up against him, getting close to his face.

_What is she doing? Is she trying to kiss me? I don't think I'm ready for this!_ As the thoughts crossed his mind, Moka bypassed his entire face, planting her face in his neck. Then he immediately felt a pinch. _Ouch! What the hell?! She's biting me! _Tsukune flustered, confused, and a thousand other emotions was completely lost as to what he should do with this woman sucking the blood out of his neck. Finally, after a short time, Moka removed herself from him and was blushing in severe embarrassment.

After gaining enough courage to speak to the boy she just touched without permission, Moka finally spoke up. "Tsukune, I'm really sorry I did that… I've never been around someone who's smelled so good and I couldn't help myself. I guess there's not much sense in trying to hide my monster identity: I'm a vampire."

_Did she just say a 'vampire'? _In his best attempt to maintain a clam composure, Tsukune answered "Oh, okay. That's very cool then. Don't worry about biting me. You probably couldn't help yourself, like you said".

Moka was taken aback at how easy and accepting he was towards her. Meanwhile, all of the stalkers in the bushes were flabbergasted. This girl of all people was a vampire? One of the most elite of monster species in the world? They all decided that they must not underestimate Moka.

"But Moka, aren't vampires supposed to be much scarier? You're way too kind and cute looking to be a vampire," Tsukune said, unaware that he was also flirting with Moka.

As expected, Moka blushed and couldn't believe what Tsukune had just said so easily. "Oh, well, you see this Rosary I wear? It's a container for my true vampire strength. If it were to be removed, my monster form would be revealed, which is much scarier and powerful than I am."

At this moment, Tsukune had only just noticed the rather gothic choice in jewelry that Moka wore. "Oh, I guess that would make sense then, wouldn't it?" Tsukune said.

Unable to stand by and watch anymore, Saizou emerged from the brush in the woods to confront the two students who were presumably alone. "Hey Moka, why're you hanging out with a weakling like that? I'm a much bigger and strong guy that's capable of giving you the attention you deserve," Saizou said as a creepy grin appears across his face.

Moka, abhorred by the thought of spending time with such an off-putting person, quickly snapped back "I don't think that'll be very necessary. Tsukune is all of the company I need," as she made her way behind Tsukune.

Saizou was growing angry now. "Listen Moka! Why're you taking sides with a human?! It's obvious he's one of them by the odor he puts off, and he's a weakling."

After hearing this, Moka's eyes went wide in realization. _That would explain why his blood smelled so good to me _she thought to herself. Immediately, she distanced herself from Tsukune a few feet. Tsukune, now aware of his friend backing away from him, turns to face her and explain himself. "Tsukune, is that really true? Are you human?" Moka asked, in a quiet and defeated tone.

Tsukune let out a long and dejected sign. _Well, it looks like I'm going to die here after all. Mom, dad, I'm really sorry I couldn't amount to much more._ "Yes, Moka. I'm human. But I'm not like the ones you knew. I've always wanted to be friends with people, and people have taken advantage of my friendship. I know where you come from in being hurt. I'm sorry if you don't want to be friends any longer," Tsukune said in an accepting voice as he turned around to face Saizou, who looked like he was getting ready for a fight. "Saizou, if I understand correctly, you're supposed to kill me now, right?" Tsukune said clearly to the face of the classmate standing in front of him.

"Well, I'll give you this: you've got guts standing like this in front of me. Yeah, this is where you die," Saizou said as a grin reached its way across his face. Tsukune looked back one last time at Moka, and faced Saizou again.

"Alright, you can kill me, but you need to promise to not touch Moka. Do you agree?" As she heard Tsukune stick up for her, Moka's heart sank in her chest. She was aware of how truly compassionate this boy was. At that moment, Saizou began stretching back to prepare one fatal blow to strike the head clean off of Tsukune's shoulders.

"I'll do as I damn well please you filthy little weakling!" Saizou shouted in a fit of rage.

Moka noticed Saizou's anger and ran forward to Tsukune, grabbed his hand and ran off into the forest, prolonging their fate.

Saizou threw his punch and missed as the young vampire snatched away his easy target. He was _not_ pleased in the least. He immediately began chasing after the two into the deeper part of the forest.

The stalkers still sitting back and watching, mouths now agape after hearing the details of the last conversation, began to make their way after the stampede that was Saizou chasing his prey.

Further down the path, Tsukune struggled to keep up with Moka as they ran for their lives. "Moka, where are we going?!" Tsukune gasped as he and Moka continued through the forest.

"Anywhere but here, Tsukune! We need to get away from Saizou immediately!" Moka exclaimed. After about fifteen minutes of running, the two finally stopped, hoping that they had escaped their pursuer.

To their dismay, Saizou was right behind them in a matter of seconds. Tsukune would have no more of this, and decided it was time to face his fate. "Okay Saizou, you win. You can have…" Tsukune was saying before he was smacked away towards a tree by Saizou, cutting him off. The trajectory Saizou sent Tsukune on made him clip Moka as he was being thrown. Tsukune, more concerned about Moka being alright, turned over as they landed to check on her.

*PLINK*

In the middle of his movements to check on the woman beneath him, he snapped off her rosary. The immediate area was engulfed in a purple light, and a sense of dread overwhelmed everyone around. Once the light faded and he was able to see, Tsukune frantically looked for his friend, and instead found someone else.

She looked like Moka, but she was different. She had long silver hair and ruby red eyes. Her presence was one of authority and demand. She looked like Moka, but she was not the girl he met this morning. After a few moments, the silver haired woman finally spoke. "So you're the one she's been running around with all day?" she asked, looking at Tsukune.

He tried to think about what had just happened in front of him, and then he recalled what Moka mentioned about her rosary. If it was removed, her true vampire form would be released. _So this is her monster form?_ Tsukune thought to himself. Meanwhile, Saizou, Ame and Mizore all sat from their locations, awe-stricken at the events that had just taken place, and the amount of power they felt coming off of this new girl.

"So what if you've got this new power? I'm still going to crush your puny little friend here, and then you!" Saizou said to Moka. He immediately broke out in a charge for Tsukune. What he didn't plan for was the insane speed with which Moka would intersect him.

Before Saizou could event touch Tsukune, Moka was in front of him, grabbing his attacking hand. "I don't appreciate it when people touch my things. It makes me very angry," Moka said angrily as she threw Saizou down a nearby hill and immediately chased after him. Tsukune was now alone (as far as he could tell) at the top of the hill.

Tsukune finally regained his footing after taking in all that happened, and began to make his way down the hill to chase Moka. "Not so fast. We need to talk, Tsukune."

_Who could this be, now of all times? _Tsukune thought to himself as he turned around in fear. It was Ame. "Ame, what're you doing here?! It's dangerous with that guy Saizou running around. He was about to..." Tsukune said before he was cut off by Ame.

"Kill you? Yeah, I know. But I have to say, I never would've expected to see you here at this school. But when I did, I thought I just never got a whiff of your monster scent since we were in school in the human world. Now, after watching all of that, it's quite obvious what you are, isn't it?" Ame said as she stared at Tsukune with a menacing look on her face. It was then that Moka resurfaced at the top of the hill.

"Sorry that I'm late. He proved to be a little more annoying than I anticipated." Moka said as she calmly stepped up to Tsukune and Ame.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Saizou hit the bottom of the hill, he quickly staggered to his feet. "Where are you? I'll kill you, silver haired bitch!" he shouted as he looked around frantically for his opponent. Moka finally arrived at the bottom of the hill.

"I'm right here, you freak. Give me your best shot." she said as she prepared a defensive fighting stance.

"AHHHHH!" Saizou gave his best battle cry as he lunged towards Moka, throwing completely random and savage attacks without any strategy whatsoever. Moka dodged them all gracefully and without difficulty. Finally, at the end of his flurry, she simply disappeared out of his view. Saizou sat there, confused and enraged.

"I'll give you a choice since I'm feeling generous. You can either go home right now, and that will be the end of it, or this can be the end of you," Moka said from an undisclosed location.

Saizou was furious. "I'm not running away from this fight! I'll have your head and that little rodent's too! I'll make sure everyone knows that I killed the vampire loving human and her little pet!"

"So be it."

In a display of unparalleled speed, Moka appeared behind Saizou. She placed her hands around his head. "Learn your place," she said calmly as she snapped his neck, and Saizou's body fell lifeless where it stood. "I may be an S-Class monster, but I didn't want to kill you, fool," She said to herself as she grabbed the body. Moka dragged Saizou's body over to the nearby cliff and threw his body over to be claimed by the rocks and ocean. "So much for him. Now let me get back up the hill to calm down that pathetic human," Moka said as she began climbing the hill.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You with the black hair, what's your name?" Moka said impatiently.

"I'm Miyamoto Ame. I'm Tsukune's ex-girlfriend and future executioner," She said in a grim manner.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I had him first. You'll need to lay off. Why would you want to kill him anyway?" Moka said sternly, taking up a defensive stance.

"He's human, he isn't allowed to be here. If he lives, he'll tell everyone about us."

_Are they seriously fighting over me? _Tsukune didn't know what to do. He was just witness to one of the scariest event of his life, and now his ex-girlfriend was threatening to kill him. "Ame, you need to calm down. No one needs to be hurt anymore, and I'm not going to tell anyone anything," Tsukune said as he approached Ame to calm her down.

"Tsukune, DON'T!" Moka screamed, but it was too late. Ame was prepared to kill Tsukune to keep this place and her existence a secret. She struck Tsukune as he approached her and began to tremble in anticipation as Tsukune hit a tree nearby and let out a gasp of pain. He probably hadn't broken any bones, but he was hurt pretty bad.

"You're a human, you're one of them. They're a worthless and filthy race! All they do is berate and humiliate us for appearing different! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" Ame shouted. As all of this happened, it began raining heavily. This made Moka very uncomfortable. The vampire race has very few weaknesses, but water is one of the worst. As the rain began making contact with her skin, she struggled to stay afoot. "Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Vampire. I forgot that you guys don't like water. That's unfortunate for you since I'm a rain woman. I've got complete control over the one element that you hate." Ame said as she approached Moka.

"You bitch, you'll pay for your insolence!" Moka shouted as she bore through the pain of the rain making contact with her skin. Moka broke out into a sprint towards her enemy to try and end the fight quickly.

Ame would have no such thing. From behind her appeared a gigantic hammer made of pure water that intercepted and hit Moka with the force of a freight train.

"AGGHHHHHH!" Moka screamed in agony as the hammer made contact and pounded her into the ground. The pain proved too much to handle and rendered Moka unconscious.

"Well Tsukune, it looks like it's just me and you now. Since we were close once, I promise to make this quick," Ame said as she approached Tsukune slowly.

Tsukune was just getting up from his impact with the tree. _So this is how I die? At the hands of my bitch ex-girlfriend? _He couldn't believe this was actually happening to him. Just this morning he was standing at the bus stop hoping to miss school, and now his ex-girlfriend was about to murder him because she was a rain woman who can control water.

At that very moment, Tsukune was engulfed and surround by a sphere of water. Tsukune began drowning as he was suspended in midair. He began gasping for any air, to no relief. _I feel light headed… I'm not going to last much longer…_

Everything then began to get cold. The water's temperature became bone chilling as he floated there. From inside the sphere of water, Tsukune couldn't see perfectly, but he noticed something. Someone was charging at Ame, trying to fight her.

A giant glacier of ice appeared in front of the bubble, nearly striking Ame. As Ame's concentration was broken, the sphere bringing Tsukune closer to death fell apart, leaving him near sopping wet and lifeless at the base of a tree with a Tsukune-shaped indent in it. Everything was going black, slowly. He could feel himself falling from consciousness.

_Who is that? She looks familiar… _

Everything faded to black.

**8/3/2014 Author's Note**

Hey guys. I just wanted to go over this chapter a little bit and do some polishing to the grammar and structure. Chances are that there's still plenty of errors. I just corrected most of the obvious stuff. I'm getting very excited from all the excellent feedback you guys are giving me. I can't wait to begin writing the next chapter. I may even get to starting it tonight!


	4. Healing Old Wounds

**Author's Note**

I want to thank you guys so much for all the support and kind words I've gotten. They make writing the next chapters so much easier, knowing that you guys will (probably) like what I've got in store. Also, I want to make known that I don't know how the entire story is going to unfold yet, so if you as a reader have ideas, feel free to toss them my way and I'll at the very least consider them! Enjoy chapter 4!

**Update 8/6/2014**

Hey everyone. I made a few changes to the format of this chapter, as well as modified the ending. I was told of a very large mistake I was making in my grammar and immediately changed it. It's my duty as a writer to bring you all the best quality store that I'm capable of, and I'm going to do just that. I hate to ask it of you all, but give me another chance with this chapter and all the previous ones that I'll be going back to and fixing grammar in.

Chapter 4: Healing Old Wounds

It had been one day since the incident with Ame almost drowning Tsukune in midair. Tsukune was unconscious in a bed located in the school infirmary. He was going to be fine, but his wounds were relatively bad for a human. He wasn't alone in the infirmary. Mizore sat in the chair besides Tsukune's bed, staring intently at him. If anyone were to see how she was looking at the young man, they would've thought it creepy. But to her, it was pure infatuation. He was such an interesting character to her. He was indeed a human, but wasn't afraid of monsters. He was even willing to defend them. _He sure is stupid. That kind of behavior will get him killed around here. But he does look really cute when he sleeps. _Mizore thought to herself while watching Tsukune. Finally, Tsukune began to show his first signs of movement since he was brought here.

Tsukune opened his eyes slowly to take in his surroundings. He slowly realized he must be in the school's infirmary. He looked to his left to see Mizore sitting by his bedside. "Oh, hello Mizore. What brings you here?" Tsukune asked densely.

"Well silly, I wanted to make sure you were still alive after everything that happened in the forest," Mizore said as she sucked on her lollipop. It was all coming back to Tsukune as she said that. He recalled being thrown by Saizou, being engulfed by the purple demonic light, and then almost being drowned by Ame.

"Mizore, what happened to me? How do you know about what happened?" Tsukune asked frantically as his sense of urgency chose to arise then.

"I was watching the entire time. I only deemed it necessary to intrude when your life was in danger."

XXXXXXXXXX

A giant ice glacier came swooping down towards Ame. To avoid being hurt, she dropped all that she was doing to get out of the way. As a result, the water sphere enclosing Tsukune fell apart, leaving Tsukune nearly lifeless at the base of a tree.

"What do you want Ice bitch?!" Ame screamed at her new attacker. She had been unaware the Mizore was watching the entire time, and was less than pleased that someone decided to stop her from killing Tsukune.

"I've grown tired of your petty behavior. He's not a harm to anyone and you want to kill him based on some rule you've only known for a few hours? Tsukune is a nice person who deserves better than you. For what it's worth, I'm glad you two broke up," Mizore said as she approached Ame. Mizore had transformed her hands into giant ice claws and took up a battle stance, ready to fight Ame.

"I won't have any of this! I'll kill you both, you human loving swine!" Ame shouted as she conjured up another water hammer to smack Mizore with.

Ame was so caught up in attacking Mizore that she didn't think about what she was getting herself into. As the hammer was about to make contact with Mizore, she simply held out her hand and grabbed the hammer, turning it into solid ice. Ame's look of hatred turned into one of fear. "What you didn't consider is how the element that you control is so easily turned into the one that I do," Mizore said calmly as she grabbed the hammer and turned it on its owner. With one fell swoop, Mizore struck Ame with her own now-transformed weapon, and sent Ame though dozens of trees and into the depths of the forest. Mizore followed Ame's trail to where she landed.

Ame was too weak to move, and laid on the ground defenseless. She would live, if she were spared. "I'm not one for unnecessary murder, but don't think for a moment that the idea of killing you and leaving you here to rot didn't cross my mind," Mizore said as one of her ice claws extended to place itself below Ame's chin. "I'm going to let you live, but you're going to need to promise me two things. First is that you'll leave Tsukune alone. He's gained my interest and as such is under my protection. Secondly, you are not to reveal his humanity to anyone. If you break either of these rules, I will find you and I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand. Are we clear?" The look of fear plaguing Ame's face was answer enough, but she reluctantly nodded her head. Mizore walked away to where Tsukune's and Moka's bodies were and carried them both to the school infirmary.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I took care of your ex-girlfriend. She shouldn't bother you anymore," Mizore said with a small and innocent spreading on her face.

"Thanks, Mizore. I feel bad having a girl taking care of my problems for me, but it's really appreciated," Tsukune said. "I guess you heard everything about me being human too, didn't you?"

Mizore nodded slightly to Tsukune and replied. "Yes, I heard everything. But it doesn't affect me in the slightest. I think the rule they have here is far too reminiscent of something you would hear in the dark ages. And besides, I knew and grew close to a young human boy when I was a child. I hold nothing against your race." Tsukune smiled at the idea of having a friend and ally in Mizore.

"So what kind of monster are you, anyway?" Tsukune asked. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable using the word 'monster' to ask the question. The young woman sitting next to him was no monster. She was actually really pretty and very kind.

"Well Tsukune, I'm a Yuki-onna. Another name we go by is snow-women. I'm capable of controlling ice, and other things like ambient temperatures as an extension of said ability."

This came as a slight shock to Tsukune, but made sense after he thought about it. He did always notice that the temperature around Mizore was a little colder than usual, especially when he first met her at the opening assembly. "Well, I'm sure that having an ability such as that one must come in handy once in a while," Tsukune said with a chuckle as he smiled brightly.

This was the first time he truly laughed or smiled since he had been at the school, and took note that it was because of the woman in his company. Mizore also found Tsukune's smile very endearing. He was such an easy person to feel comfortable around.

Tsukune finally pulled himself back to reality and looked toward Mizore. "How long have I been here?"

"About a day," she replied.

Tsukune then considered how badly he was hurt and that he would have to avoid interactions like that to stay alive in this place. He looked down at his lap and thought to himself, _that's __**if**__ I stay here. _

As if on cue, Mizore stared calmly at Tsukune as she saw his lost in his own thoughts. She knew what he was thinking.

It was then that the nurse walked into the infirmary. "Alright Ms. Shirayuki, you need to go so that Tsukune can get his rest. He'll be in class tomorrow," the nurse said with a blissful tone.

Reluctantly, Mizore got up and said to Tsukune calmly, "Don't worry, Tsukune. If you need me, I'll be there." She then gave him a very sincere grin and left the room as the nurse asked.

Tsukune, now left by himself as the nurse gave him some medicine and left the room, began to let his thoughts run wild. _Should I really leave? It's obvious there are some people here who care about me… _He trailed off and slowly made his way back to sleep. The sound of the rain on the window to the infirmary helped ease him to sleep. The rain steadily began to pick up force until it was easily classified as a heavy storm. Mother Nature, or _someone__ else_, was clearly very upset.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Tsukune made his way back to his dorm room, retrieved a fresh uniform from his closet and changed in preparation for the day. Once finished, he made his way to class. After he stepped out of his dorm building, he was shocked to hear his named being screamed.

"TSUKUNE!" was all he heard before he was tackled to the ground. He immediately thought this to be a threat, but then realized that his attacker meant him now harm. It was Moka. She was clearly distressed from the look she wore on her face. "Tsukune! I was so worried about you! I tried checking up on you in the infirmary, but the nurse said you were too weak to have visitors, and when I went to check this morning you were gone!" Moka said, going at a mile a minute.

"Hehe, calm down Moka. I'm fine. I think me standing here in front of you in one piece is testament enough to that," he said calmly as he chuckled. His dismissal of the situation that took place yesterday was clearly not going to be enough.

"Tsukune, I'm very sorry that you got hurt trying to defend me. If I was stronger, I could've protected you more…" she trailed off, looking worried. Tsukune felt bad that Moka was legitimately worried for him the last day and a half.

Tsukune visible straightened out and faced Moka. "Moka, I want to leave what happened in the past. I'm perfectly safe now, you're not hurt, we're both okay. Let's just try to have a good day then, shall we?" he said asked her reassuringly. She smiled in response and nodded affirmatively.

The two of them made their way to class, but were being watched. Mizore was perched above the two in a tree, listening very intently and watching Tsukune like a hawk. _Why do I feel jealous? Sure he's an interesting guy, and cute, and caring… do I really feel that way about him? _Mizore thought to herself as she watched her target. She had some serious thinking to do about how she truly felt about Tsukune today. She followed the pair below as they made their way to class.

Fifteen minutes later, the trio sat in homeroom, ready for another day. Mostly everyone was present in class. Only two distinct seats were empty: Saizou's and Ame's. Tsukune wasn't surprised that Ame was absent. She was probably hurt after her scuffle with Mizore and wanted to lay low for a while. But why was Saizou absent? Tsukune leaned forward to whisper to Moka, "Moka, do you know why Saizou isn't here?"

Moka visibly stiffened at his question. She remembered vividly what had happened, and she didn't want to let Tsukune know yet. "Now's probably not a good time, Tsukune. Can I tell you after classed end today?" Moka asked nervously.

Tsukune wondered why she was acting so strangely, and calmly accepted. "Sure Moka, we can talk later."

Mizore started at Tsukune with a look of concern. _He probably isn't going to take this well_ she thought to herself.

Classes that day ended very quickly. The academic difficulty level was a little dialed back from what Tsukune was used to in the human world, so he was glad that he had an opportunity to make up for lost time here. After his last class, Tsukune stepped out into the hallway to speak to Moka. Moka exited the room and left the door slightly ajar behind her. Mizore positioned herself perfectly at the crack in the threshold to hear what was about to happen.

"So Moka, what had to wait until now for you to tell me?" Tsukune inquired.

Moka took a deep sigh and prepared her statement. "Tsukune, when Saizou and I went down the cliff, he continued trying to fight me. It was clear that he wasn't going to lay off. I gave him one last chance to give up and go home. He didn't like that, and continued to rampage around, looking for me. So, I did what I had to," Moka said with a worried look on her face. "It wasn't honestly _me_, it was my inner form. We share the same body but have individual personalities."

Tsukune's eye grew wide as she told him this. _What does she mean 'she did what she had to?!' _he thought to himself. "Tsukune, I just want to assure you that the actions of my inner self don't reflect on mine at all…" she trailed off, clearly upset with what her other half had done.

"Moka, what did you, or your inner self, do?"

Silence fell between the two students for a moment. A moment later, Moka took a deep breath and said, "I killed him Tsukune…"

Everything slowed down for Tsukune. He realized people could be in danger here. They could be in any high school. Fights broke out all the time. But someone actually died here? That doesn't happen nearly as often in the human world!

After taking a moment to let that sink in, Tsukune spoke up. "Moka, I need to be alone for a little while. Please don't follow me."

A look of shock washed over Moka's face. She was clearly concerned with her friend's opinion of her. "Tsukune, wait!" she shouted, as her friend walked away.

"Don't worry Moka. I'll be fine. Just please, don't follow me," he said calmly as he walked away.

Moka then grabbed the rosary on her chest in fear, wondering what Tsukune was going to do.

Mizore, who had listened to the whole conversation, knew exactly what he was doing. _He's leaving Yokai. I've got to get to him before he arrives at the bus stop _she thought intently to herself. With one graceful motion, Mizore jumped out of the classroom window in an attempt to tail Tsukune.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune was sitting alone by himself on the ground near the cliffs where the bus drops you off. It appeared that he was waiting for the bus to arrive. He had been there for about ten minutes when it began to rain heavily. _It's been raining an awful lot lately… she's probably mad _Tsukune thought to himself. Then he heard footsteps through nearby puddles approaching him. Tsukune raised his head to see Ame approaching him. Tsukune wanted to be surprised, but he really couldn't be. His bloodthirsty ex-girlfriend had tried to kill him, and was going to do it by any means necessary, even if that meant having to deal with Mizore afterwards. Tsukune sighed and looked up at Ame as he sat on the ground.

"Hi there Ame…" was all he managed to say before he caught a swift kick to his chin, sending him back a couple of feet towards the cliff's edge. Tsukune staggered to get up as he saw the rain-woman approaching him.

"You filthy human! You're not supposed to be here, and I can smell the fear on you! You're going to run home and try to expose this place to the world! I won't let you!" Ame screamed as she approached Tsukune.

Tsukune tried to defend himself. "Ame, listen! I wasn't going to do any such thing!"

"I don't care what you say! You're lying! It's matter of survival at this point!" Ame shouted. She gestured with her hands like a conductor of a symphony. A moment later a torrential wave over 10 stories high from over the edge of the cliff towered over Tsukune's head.

Normally at this point, Tsukune would think something overly depressing to himself, like 'So this is how I die?' Now, Tsukune only stood there adamantly as he accepted his fate. If this was how he was meant to go out, he had to truly assure himself that he enjoyed the ride to this point. He simply smiled at Ame and looked her straight in the eyes.

The look itself instilled a look of fear in her. She then overtook the fear and replaced it with malice. "Goodbye Tsukune!" she shouted as she motioned for the water wall to collapse on top of him.

The temperature began to drop rapidly. A moment later, female voice then screamed, "TSUKUNE!"

Within the blink of an eye, the wall of water was turned into ice and Mizore had sudden appeared by his side.

Frightened by Mizore's sudden appearance, Ame now looked like she had seen a ghost.

With a look of hate in her eyes, Mizore simply looked at Ame while standing next to Tsukune and said "What did I say would happen if you ever tried to hurt him again?"

Mizore embraced Tsukune and began chilling the air around them. Tsukune blushed heavily as the snow woman grabbed onto him, and tried to ask what she was doing when she placed an icy finger to his lips, silencing him. She looked up at Tsukune and smiled.

Ame then realized what Mizore was doing and would not have it. Mizore was placing a protective dome of ice around herself and Tsukune. That meant something bad was about to happen. She rushed towards the two embracing students to get at least one attack in. No sooner had Mizore instantly conjured the ice dome to protect Tsukune and herself. She then held on tight, bracing for an impact.

Ame stopped in her tracks as she was running towards the two in the ice dome because she heard a very close and loud rumbling. The wall of water she had summoned before was now shaking violently.

With a violent scream, Mizore willed the ice wall to shatter into thousands of large ice spikes that rocketed towards the three students. Thankfully, Mizore had protected Tsukune and herself from the volley of ice spikes, but Ame was not so fortunate.

In a feeble attempt to shield herself, Ame tried to deflect as many of the spikes as possible, but she wasn't capable of stopping them all. They came down with a tremendous force, pummeling into the rain woman. She managed to guard her vital organs, but she was badly damaged to the point where she laid immobilized on the ground.

After the icy dust settled and all was still, Mizore dissolved the ice dome around Tsukune and herself. She was unfazed, but Tsukune was shivering uncontrollably due to the inner temperature of the ice dome. Mizore began to slowly walk towards the now immobilized rain woman on the ground in front of her.

Ame saw Mizore approaching her and tried her best to back away while on the ground. She couldn't get away fast enough, as Mizore was on top of her a moment later.

"This is where you die, rain-bitch. Have you accepted your fate?" Mizore said grimly.

She didn't wait for Ame to answer. As Ame began to speak, possibly to plead for her life, Mizore cocked her arm back as her hand turned into an ice claw and was about to impale Ame. Before she could do that though, Mizore felt something holding her back.

It was Tsukune. He was holding onto Mizore's are for dear life, attempting to stop her from killing Ame.

"Tsukune, what are you doing? This bitch tried to kill you! She needs to die!" Mizore shouted. As she lowered her arm, she saw a look of sadness on Tsukune's face. "Tsukune…" she trailed off as she looked up at him.

"Mizore… you can't kill her," Tsukune stated stoically.

Mizore looked at him in shock. What was he thinking? This was the woman that tried to kill him, twice! He wasn't seriously taking Ame's side, was he? Mizore looked at Tsukune directly and asked "Tsukune, you can't seriously be taking her side, can you?"

Tsukune casted a look down at Ame who was on the ground groveling in fear, with tears running down her cheeks. He then looked up at Mizore and let the emotion rush back to his face. He faced Mizore and said calmly, "Mizore, you can't kill her. If you do, then you're no better than her, having stooped down to that level. I think I know you well enough, and you're not the kind of person to take a life. Let her go. I think she's learned her lesson."

Mizore reluctantly agreed with Tsukune and lowered her are. She finally began to feel the effect of all the youki energy she consumed and collapsed to her knees on the ground, treading the line between consciousness and sleep. Tsukune quickly made his way to Mizore's side on the ground, concerned about her.

"Mizore! Are you alright?"

"It's fine... I'm just really tired," she meekly replied as her head fell into Tsukune's shoulder.

Tsukune grew comfortable I'm this position. After a moment, he asked, "Mizore, not that I'm ungrateful, but why did you come here?"

She lifted her head ever so slightly to look into Tsukune's eyes and answered, "I knew you were going to get on the bus and never come back, so I had to stop you." Tsukune's grew wide at the idea Mizore mentioned.

"Mizore, I wasn't leaving. I came out here to think and be by myself. I was so shocked when I learned that Moka killed Saizou that I needed to be alone."

As Mizore heard him say that, she grew very comfortable in his arms. _Good... my Tsukune isn't leaving me _she thought to herself as a smile found its way into her face. She then quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Tsukune quickly realized that Mizore was asleep and looked over to see Ame unconscious as well. _Great, now I've got to get these two to three infirmary._

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day, school began as usual. Tsukune prepared himself in the morning and found Moka waiting for him outside his dorm.

"Good morning Moka," he said with a large smile and a laugh. This relieved Moka, to see her friend speaking to her again.

"Good morning Tsukune. I wanted to say about yesterday..." was all she could saw before she was cut off.

"It's okay, honestly. I understand now that you really didn't have a choice. What's done is done. Let's just be friends again, okay?" Tsukune said with a blissful smile on his face. Moka was overjoyed to hear Tsukune say that. She immediately threw her arms around him to give him a hug… or what seemed like one.

"Ah! Ow! Moka what are you doing!?" Tsukune exclaimed. A moment later, Moka withdrew herself from around Tsukune and looked at him with a huge blush running across her face.

"I'm sorry Tsukune. I couldn't help myself. I got so excited that you forgave me, and you smelled so good this morning. I just had to have some of your blood."

_That's right, she's a vampire after all_ Tsukune thought to himself. As he inspected the bite mark, it had already healed on his body. "I guess there's no helping it then, is there?" Tsukune said as me shrugged. The two then made their way to class for the day.

Upon arriving in homeroom, Tsukune was very shocked and pleased to see Mizore sitting in her seat behind his.

As for Mizore, she immediately noticed his presence as he walked in. Her eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. She was happy to see him this morning, but less happy to see that he walked in with Moka. _Oh well, I suppose I'll have to get used to that. For now, at least _she thought to herself.

Tsukune ran up to Mizore to check on how she was doing. To his delight, she was feeling much better after a good night's sleep.

"Thank you again for getting me to the infirmary Tsukune," Mizore said.

"Don't mention it! It was the least I could do after you saved me," Tsukune replied.

The last statement piqued Moka's interest, to which to inquired, "Saved you from what, Tsukune?" Tsukune turned to face Moka in his chair.

"It's a bit of a long story…" he trailed off.

All of the sudden, students on the other side of the classroom were making a loud racket.

"Wooo! Look at the legs on her!" said one boy.

"Wow! I can't believe she's in this class with us," said another.

"What's going on here?" Tsukune asked out loud in a calm tone. After making a path through the crowd of students, a girl approached the trio.

It was Ame. And she looked _different_. She looked happier today. She came into the room smiling from ear to ear with a very pleasant atmosphere around her. Her pale skin glowed today. And her jet black hair was up in a pony-tail tied with a very thin red ribbon. Everything about her emphasized the attractive features of her body: her slender legs, curvy figure, and less than modest but not indecent bosom. As she approached her seat, she stopped for a moment and faced Tsukune. Moka and Mizore immediately became defensive and on edge.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to make any more trouble for you three," Ame stated firmly. Moka, Mizore and Tsukune looked at each other, confused.

"Really?" Tsukune asked.

Ame let out a slight giggled and smiled. "Really. I promise this time. _For real._"

Mizore immediately then jumped into the conversation. "How are we supposed to trust you?" she asked.

Ame set her bag down on her desk and sighed. She knew this would take some explaining, but that didn't make this any easier. "Well, it happened after you defeated me yesterday, Mizore. When you were ready to strike me down and Tsukune defended me, it clicked. It finally occurred to me just how caring of a soul he is and how wrong I was for acting how I have towards him," she said as she turned to face Tsukune exclusively. "Tsukune, I'm sorry for what I did to you before in school, and what I've done to you here at Yokai Academy. If you could find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd forever be in your gratitude," Ame said as she bowed her head before him.

Moka, Mizore and Tsukune couldn't believe what they were seeing. The girl they knew for the past two days to be snobby and selfish was now being… humble and asking for forgiveness? It definitely came as a shock.

After a moment of silence, Tsukune spoke up. "It's alright Ame, I forgive you."

Ame's head shot up like a rocket. "Really? That easy?!" Ame exclaimed, nearly grabbing the attention of the entire class. Moka and Mizore shared similar reactions on their faces.

"Yep, that easy. I understand that you're sorry for what you've done, and I won't hold it against you," Tsukune stated in his normal happy-go-lucky tone.

Ame giggled slightly and looked at Tsukune directly. "Thank you, Tsukune. And you know, I was right." Tsukune looked confused.

"Right about what?" he asked.

"You're a nice guy, even if you are nice to the point where you're insane," Ame replied and smiled at him. She turned her attention to the two girls. "And as for you two, I'm also sorry for the trouble I caused."

Mizore and Moka looked at each other with doubt in their eyes, but relaxed and accepted the apology.

"However," Ame snapped at them, "don't think for a second that I'm giving up on Tsukune."

"WHAT?!" Mizore snapped as she stood up and slammed her hands on her desk.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to try and kill him. Oh no, that wouldn't be good at all for what I've got planned. I'm going to make him mine. I've grown to like this new defensive Tsukune who sticks up for helpless little women. And there's nothing you two can do to stop me," Ame winked, and then looked at Tsukune in a seductive manner.

Right then Ms. Nekonome walked into the room. "Alright class, settle down meow~."

Mizore had to physically restrain herself from getting up and strangling Ame at this point. Moka also felt really upset with how this morning had already.

As Ame made her way to sit down, she leaned over and gave Tsukune a peck on the cheek. Everything went downhill from there. Mizore jumped out of her seat, ready to kill Ame. Moka was crying in her seat like she was attending a funeral. Tsukune had to restrain Mizore from killing Ame who sat in her chair calmly as if nothing happened.

_This is going to be a long day _Tsukune thought to himself as he fought to hold back the fiery snow-woman.

**Author's Note**

And that's a wrap on chapter 4! This one flowed really easily. It's a bit longer, so there may be some/many grammatical errors. I apologize in advance if that's the case. All things considered, I think this was my best chapter yet. Hopefully the content is juicy enough for you guys/gals!

Also, I want to give a shout out to User 627 for the idea of describing Ame at the end of this chapter, and for the pony tail she wears. That was explicitly his idea and I think it worked out perfectly.

I hope you're all looking forward to chapter 5. I'll be honest, I haven't given it any thought at all. If anyone of you out there have an idea of where you'd like the story to go, please PM me or put it in a comment and I'll consider it. I'm deciding whether or not I should put much/any filler in the story to pad the time between major plot points and introductions of characters. As for character introductions, we'll be getting _two _more. Kurumu will be featured in this story, as well as an OC of mine. I've given this one a good deal of thought, and I think you guys will like her I'm sorry to all the Yukari/Ruby fans out there. The witches just don't fit into my story so far. I'll be open minded and try to see if they can, however.

Finally, I wanted to apologize to any of you who've gotten used to my frequency of releasing chapters and thought that this one took long. I tried to write as often as possible, but this week was/is an interesting one. Yesterday (August 5, 2014) was my 21st birthday (woot!) and I went to a baseball game (Mariners vs. Braves). I had my first _legal_ drink and enjoyed myself a little. So, I'll try to update more regularly after this! If anything comes up, I'll be sure to notify you all!

Also, points to anyone who can guess the significance behind Tsukune's teacher's name from chapter 1!

Until next time!

Monster Abe


	5. Mandatory?

**Author's Note**

Hey everyone. I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long. I'm at the end of a summer internship, and there's a lot going on. I actually just got asked to come back for full time after I graduate! Hopefully things will become a little simpler from here on out. I'd like to write more regularly. I also want to apologize about the filler-ness of this chapter. I don't feel like it would be any fun if my story was absolutely nothing but plot. If you guys want that, let me know and it shall be. Filler isn't my strong suit anyways.

So, I've gotten some mixed reviews about chapter four. I'm really sad to hear it wasn't as up to snuff as you were all hoping, but that doesn't discourage me. I'm going to keep trying to deliver chapters that you guys will like. I mean, you keep coming back and reading for a reason, don't you?

So please, I encourage you all to continue giving honest reviews, or PM me if you like. I'm willing to consider suggestions for plot, character development, and almost anything else. You all giving me feedback makes me a better writer, and in the end you get a better story!

This chapter is a little lighter hearted than the previous ones. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Mandatory?!

The sun was creeping into Tsukune's room through his blinds. It may try hard, but no mere light would pull him from the comfort of his bed. And then the alarm rang.

"Ugh… I guess it's time to get up," Tsukune mumbled with his head buried in his pillow. He stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and attempting to tame his messy hair, he returned to his room. Tsukune grabbed a uniform from the closet, got dressed, grabbed his bag, and left the dorm. It had been about a week since the incident with Ame occurred and passed, and Tsukune finally felt like he achieved normality. Well, _some_ degree of normality. After all, this was a school for monsters.

When Tsukune arrived outside of his dorm, he was greeted by one very gleeful Moka.

"Good morning Tsukune!" she said with a wonderful smile.

"Good morning Moka. How're you today?" Tsukune asked cheerfully.

"I'm fine. However, I had to skip breakfast to be here on time. Would you mind if I… if I could have some of your blood?"

Tsukune froze in shock. "Ah, um… sure Moka. I know you can't help it, after all," he said.

"Oh thank you Tsukune!" Moka said as she jumped towards him to grab hold of his neck.

However, before Moka could get hold of Tsukune, she ran directly into a giant wall made of ice.

"You'll do no such thing, vampire," Mizore hissed at Moka as she descended from a tree nearby.

"Oh, good morning Mizore. I'm glad you could join us," Tsukune said, delighted to be in the young Yuki-onna's presence.

Mizore noticeably blushed from Tsukune's greeting. "Good morning Tsukune… how're you today?"

"Oh, I'm well. How about yourself?"

"I'm also well," Mizore said quietly as Moka slowly recovered. Mizore then lifted her head as she picked up a change in the wind. "We better get to class. I believe it's going to rain soon." As if on cue, the sky slightly blackened to a gray tone and began to drizzle heavily.

"Ahhh! I can't be out here, we need to go!" Moka shouted as she hoisted her school bag over her head and ran at an alarming speed towards the school building.

"Mizore, you go on ahead and make sure she's okay. I've got find my umbrella in my bag," Tsukune said to Mizore.

"Okay, Tsukune. Don't take too long, or I'll get worried," Mizore said as she wore a slight grin on her face and ran off in the same direction as Moka.

Tsukune searched through his bag frantically to find his umbrella. A moment later, he successfully retrieved it and sprung it open.

"Oh, hello there Tsukune," said a calm and feminine voice from behind Tsukune.

"Ah! Oh my god, you startled me!" Tsukune yelled as her turned around. Behind him was Ame, looking as pleasant as ever as she held her own umbrella.

"My apologies, Tsukune. I didn't mean to scare you," she said with a slight look of worry on her face.

Regaining his composure, Tsukune straightened himself out. "It's fine. Are you on your way to class as well?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Would you mind if we walked together?" Ame asked with a very innocent smile on her face. She looked very nice today, as she always did for the past week. Her jet black hair was up in a ponytail with her trademark red ribbon.

Tsukune quickly realized he was staring and averted his eyes. "S..Sure, Ame. Let's get going!" he said enthusiastically as they made their way to class.

The rain kept a steady stream and rate as they walked together. "This weather sure is out of the ordinary, isn't it?" Tsukune asked with a look of curiosity on his face.

"Ah… yes. Well, it wasn't supposed to rain for another week or so. But, I felt a little spontaneous this morning. So… I made it rain a little early," Ame responded very timidly. Tsukune's eyes bolted open, and Ame noticed immediately. "Don't worry, I'm not upset or anything! It's just that… I wanted to speak to you alone. I knew the rain would make Moka run, and I kind of just banked on Mizore going with her."

Tsukune visibly calmed down and continued on ahead with Ame. "Well, I suppose you're in luck. You've got me alone. What did you want to speak to me about?"

Ame tensed up as Tsukune prompted her. They were both walking along as their pace slowed to a stop. "Well, Tsukune… I can understand that it must've felt very weird for the past week with me being so nice to you. I'm positive that Moka and Mizore don't trust me either…" she trailed off as she looked at her feet.

Tsukune looked worried about her now. _Sure, she may have tried to kill me, but she apologized and regrets it. I can't just look at her in this state and not feel a little worried…_ Tsukune waged an internal war mentally as he witnessed Ame looking so distressed.

"Tsukune, I really am sorry for what I did to you. In grade school and now. I only want to make up for it and see if I can regain your trust. I've had… a very trouble childhood, and when I finally felt like I had some degree of control over my circle of friends and my boyfriend, I let the power get to my head and became just as bad as the people who tortured me so much."

Even in the middle of the rain that was coming down harder now, Tsukune could tell that Ame was crying. "Listen, Ame. It may seem very weird that I've forgiven you so easily. And I'm sure many other people think I'm spineless. But I've honestly forgiven you. What happened between us is in the past, and I'm sure you just want to move forward as much as I do," Tsukune said with a very endearing smile on his face.

Ame's mood visibly lightened at hearing this, and consequently, the rain lightened up to a very light drizzle. "Thank you, Tsukune," she said through a sniffle and wiped her tears away. "I promise, I'm going to do what it takes to earn your trust again," she said in a bright tone as she skipped forward. Ame turned around to face Tsukune and added, "Maybe along the way I can have you fall for me all over again!" She gave a very happy smile and skipped along to class, leaving Tsukune alone with his face as red as a cherry. The rain had stopped completely.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ame arrived to class, and Tsukune followed moments later. Mizore and Moka hardly even noticed Ame enter because they were so focused on waiting for Tsukune. After they were all seated and Moka and Mizore began arguing about who Tsukune liked more (to which he became embarrassed and stayed quiet), Ms. Nekonome walked into the room.

"Okay class, settle down, meow! We've got a lot to cover today, but before we do, I have an important announcement. As some of you may know, the afterschool club fair is going on today. Effective immediately, I'm making it mandatory that you all join a club or you'll fail my class."

The entire class broke out in a roar. The students were clearly unhappy with their newest "assignment". To Tsukune, this was only another burden. "I'm no good at after school activities… that's why I avoided them in my last school…"

Mizore noticed the look of despair on Tsukune's face and immediately jumped into action. Without gaining Moka or Ame's attention, she snuck up next to Tsukune. "Tsukune, if you're so worried, we can both join a club together so that it doesn't have to be such a bad experience. How does that sound?" Mizore said with a slight smile as she licked her lollipop.

_Hmm, if I did have a friend in club, then I wouldn't be nearly as miserable there. I guess this isn't such a bad idea_ Tsukune thought to himself. "Alright then Mizore. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Thank you!" Tsukune said as he was smiling again.

Mizore's face broke out in a gigantic blush after that. _He actually appreciates my help!_ She thought as she looked at the newly risen spirits of her friend-who-she-thinks-she-might-like-but-doesn't-really-know.

Tsukune turned forward to resume class with the rest of his friends, but couldn't focus on what was going on. His mind was much more preoccupied with something else. _Mizore sure is really nice to me. Hell, she's even gone out of her way to save my life. You don't think that she… no, there's no way. I'm just a human. She'd never actually have a legitimate interest in me. Could she?_ Tsukune thought to himself as he now stared out into the distance of the window.

XXXXXXXXXX

As if it were only moments later, the bell for to class end rang and it was lunch break.

Mizore went over to Tsukune's seat and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Tsukune, would you like to eat lunch together? I know this great spot on the roof."

"Sure, Mizore. That sounds like a wonderful idea."

The two quickly grabbed some food from the cafeteria and went to the roof where there would enjoy a meal quietly by themselves… if they didn't have company.

"Why are you two here? I seem to remember only inviting Tsukune to my spot," Mizore asked, sounding more than slightly annoyed.

"Well, we wanted to have lunch with Tsukune too, so we followed him here. That's not so bad, is it?" Ame asked with a less than innocent grin on her face. Moka was sitting behind her with a slight blush on her face.

_I didn't want to intrude on them, but I really wanted to have lunch with Tsukune… _Moka thought to herself. "I'm sorry that we're intruding, Tsukune…" she trailed off as she blushed even harder.

"It's okay Moka, honestly. This way I can have lunch with all of you together," Tsukune said happily as he chuckled and took a bite from his sandwich.

At this point, Ame shot Mizore a look of absolutely victory. One that said "See? I told you, we're allowed to be here!"

"Hello ladies!" a strange voice came from somewhere on the roof. Over the edge of the railing that kept people from falling off the roof hopped a student. He was taller than Tsukune with a muscular build. He also wore far too much cologne. He was holding three small bouquets of assorted flowers. "Here's one for you, one for you, and one for you," he said as he handed them out to Ame, Moka and Mizore, respectively.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Tsukune asked. The girls were all glad he did, because they were wondering the same thing.

"Oh, hi there small fry. I didn't see you there. My name's Morioka Ginei, but you can all call me Gin."

"What're you doing here?" snapped Mizore.

Gin flinched at her gesture. "Oh, feisty aren't we?" Gin asked as his gaze snapped to Moka whose appearance grabbed his attention. "Hi there gorgeous. I've told you my name, what's yours?"

"My name is… Akashiya Moka."

"Moka, what a pretty name…" Gin trailed off as he stared off into the sky, attempting to appear deep in thought.

"Hey, asshole. You didn't answer my question!" Mizore shouted as she stood up, indicating that she didn't appreciate his presence.

For a moment, one could've noticed a look of anger on Gin's face, but it was quickly swept away and covered with his normal suave demeanor. "I'm sorry that I troubled you ladies. As to why I'm here, I just happened to see you all and couldn't resist coming to introduce myself."

"So you're a pervert who needs to go out of his way to interact with every woman he can?" Ame chimed in as she was beginning to become annoyed of Gin's presence.

"I'm no such thing, I assure you ladies. Now, it's getting a little late into the lunch period. If you three will be going to the afterschool club fair today, I strongly urge you to join my club. It'll be a lot of fun. Now I must be off. Until next time," he said confidently as he jumped off of the roof and ran off into the distance.

The group sat quietly as they let what just happened sink in. Tsukune was about to speak up when he was cut off.

"That was easily the worst combination of over-confidence and perversion I've ever been witness to," Mizore said.

"I concur," said Ame.

"I don't like him. He's creepy and stares at me like I'm some slab of meat," Moka whimpered as she started to pout.

At that moment, the bell signifying that lunch had ended rang, and the girls got up to return to class. Tsukune sat on the floor of the roof alone at this point. "What the hell just happened? Did everyone just forget I exist or something?"he said out loud to himself as he cleaned up his trash and went back to class.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the day passed by without much excitement. Tsukune had English class, which he was okay at. Then math. Math was his greatest weakness, and his teacher knew it.

_I swear that lady has it out for me_ he thought to himself as he was beginning to walk out of class. As he entered the hallway, he was greeted by very busy crows roaming around. "Oh yeah, the fair is now," he said aloud.

"Yes it is," Mizore said calmly as she appeared next to Tsukune. This time he only flinched. He was becoming very used to her popping up, but he was still taken by surprise from time to time. She wrapped around his arm, causing Tsukune to go red in the face. "I said that I'd take you around to look for a club to join, and I meant it," she insisted as she work a very adorable smile on her face with her lollipop sticking out.

"Oh, I sort of forgot. Nonetheless, thank you Mizore. I probably wouldn't have done this if you weren't here."

She blushed as she held onto his arm. "Come on, Tsukune. Let's check up the clubs over here."

The two walked off towards a couple of booths to inspect them. Meanwhile, they were closely being followed through the halls. Ame and Moka were behind them watching closely as to what clubs they consider.

**Earlier in the day**

"Moka, can I speak to you really quickly?" Ame asked as they were walking back to the classroom from lunch break.

"What is it, Ame?"

"Do you want to follow Tsukune around after school to see which club he joins?"

The thought had crossed her mind earlier in the day, but she felt kind of dirty for thinking it. Now that Moka knew she wasn't the only one who wanted to, it didn't feel nearly as repulsing. "Sure, that'd be nice. I'd like to be in the same club as Tsukune, after all."

"Good, it's settled then. We'll tail him after school".

**Present time**

"How's this one look, Tsukune?" Mizore asked as she gestured towards a club booth.

"The Espionage Enthusiasts club… I don't know. I don't like spy movies that much. But this does seem like something you'd like, now that I think about it."

"It's okay. If you don't think you'd enjoy it, we can keep walking around," Mizore stated.

As they continued, they found another booth that looked interesting. "How about the swimming club, Tsukune? I've always loved swimming," Mizore said as she smiled slightly.

"I hate swimming. I almost drowned when I was little and haven't swam ever since." Tsukune stated very monotonously.

Mizore frowned at hearing Tsukune's story. She didn't know he was so afraid of swimming. She looked back at the swimming club's booth and noticed that the women there were now looking at Tsukune with a look similar to the one Gin was giving Moka earlier. "You're right, swimming sucks. Let's go find something else!" Mizore exclaimed as she grabbed Tsukune and kept searching through the sea of club booths.

After not finding a single club they were both interested in, they returned to their homeroom to speak to Ms. Nekonome. Maybe she could make an exception for the two of them.

"Ms. Nekonome, do you think you could allow Mizore and I to not join a club? We couldn't find one we we're both interested in," Tsukune pleaded to his teacher.

"Mmmm, nope! You've got to join one!" she replied in high spirits. Her enthusiasm was only making them dread joining a club more. "And I've got just the one! It's the club that I sponsor. Here, I'll write down the room number and meeting times. Show up at the next meeting!" She scribbled some information on a piece of paper and handed it to Tsukune.

"The newspaper club?" he asked out loud. _I guess I did always like writing when I was younger._

**Author's Note**

I'd like to address some concerns you've probably had with this chapter, especially the beginning. Don't worry, this is not a Tsukune x Ame story. The dialogues between them need to happen, just so the finer details of their reconciling are hashed out. This is definitely a Tsukune x Mizore story. Also, I'd like to speak towards Tsukune's forgiving nature. I'm writing what I think Tsukune would do based off of his manga/anime character. I recall plenty of times he was nearly killed, and then ended up befriending the women responsible. I'm going to defend my place and say that the sense of friendship between him and Ame is kind of justified, seeing Tsukune's track record in the actual work.

Anyways, look forward to chapter 6! It'll be part 2 or probably 3 that take place in the "newspaper club intro" arc. Until next time!


	6. A New Challenger Appears

**Author's Note:**

**Alright, I know a lot of explaining to do. Let me get started with that.**

**First of all, I haven't forgotten about the story (which should be obvious with my putting out another chapter). This chapter has been ready for about 2-3 weeks, but school became very time consuming and it definitely needed to be edited. In fact, I'm sure the chapter still isn't perfect. I just can't think of what else to do with the picture I've painted at the moment. I'll make it work, I promise. **

**Secondly, I'm sorry that the last chapter was pretty useless filler. It was a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction because I was growing worried that people were concerned that I stopped writing. Also, I was really worried about putting out some material that would further upset people. I've been a little high strung about delivering a good story to you all. I take the reviews very seriously, and when I get people telling me that I'm starting to royally screw up, I begin to panic.**

**Third, I want to ask for patience from you all with my writing style. It's lacking, I know. I'm trying to pick up a proper way to frame stories and dialogues and such, it's just not coming as quickly as I'd hope. I'm a programmer, so proper story writing never became super important to me.**

**I want to apologize about how long these are taking to come out now. But, just because I'm back in school does not mean the story is on hold. Writing will still happen, it'll just happen slower.**

**To reiterate, I've got a very general idea of how the story will be from a zoomed-out view. I've still got to sew it all together, and that's where I need to ask for patience and understanding from you all when I make some silly mistakes **** and as always, suggestions, requests & constructive criticism are welcomed. Please enjoy!**

Chapter 6: A New Challenger Appears

Tsukune and Mizore walked down the hall side by side until they reached the classroom indicated by their teacher. The sign above the door read "The Newspaper Club".

"This looks like it," Tsukune said as he opened the door. The room was completely empty except for the furniture taking up space. There were some blackboards and decks put together to form a table in the middle of the room. "We must be early."

"That would appear so," Mizore stated as she idly scanned the room, running her finger along the desks. "It also looks like Ms. Nekonome left us a note," Mizore said as she picked up a note off the large table in the middle of the room. The note read:

_Tsukune and Mizore, _

_If you're reading this, then thank you for showing up to the Newspaper Club! I'm sure you'll have fun here. The club president always has something interesting up his sleeve when it comes to getting the latest scoop on campus. I also want to inform you that I will not be attending regular meetings unless the club president tells me there's an emergency. I hope you both enjoy yourselves!_

_Ms. Nekonome_

_P.S._

_Please inform your fellow club mates about my attendance, if any show up._

Tsukune wanted to appear shocked, but something told him that this was normal behavior coming from his teacher. After a moment of inspecting the room (which was painfully dull, with hardly any furniture except a blackboard and group of tables in the center), Tsukune took a seat at one of the tables. Seconds later, Mizore joined Tsukune by sitting beside him. She was close to him. Almost a little too close, some would say.

"Um… Mizore, I can go sit in a different seat if I'm too close to you," Tsukune said as he blushed.

"It's fine. I like where you're sitting now, Tsukune," she replied with an absent-minded tone. A moment later, the door to the classroom opened and Ame walked in. "Damn, and I just began to like where this was going," Mizore muttered to herself.

"Oh, hello Tsukune. Mizore," Ame said politely as she walked into the room. She took a seat across from Tsukune and Mizore.

"Hello Ame," Tsukune replied. Before he could say anything else, he was cut off by Mizore.

"Did you suddenly become passionate about journalism?" Mizore said with a hint of annoyance in her tone as she moved around the lollipop in her mouth. It was clear to the entire room that Mizore wanted to be away from the likes of Ame, or event Moka, for the duration of club.

"Not at all. Actually, I only came to this club because I was given no other choice by Ms. Nekonome. She was adamant about me joining a club. I didn't like any of the ones I saw, so she _recommended _this one," Ame said as she leaned forward onto her desk. "I assume you two had a similar situation?"

"Yes, Ms. Nekonome was also very intent on having us join this club. However, she mentioned that she won't be joining us at any meetings unless there's an emergency," Tsukune said.

Ame took a moment to absorb everything and sighed. "I suppose there's some staff benefit to hosting a club. She probably gets a bonus, or something."

After an awkward silence fell on the room, and Tsukune finally spoke up, "It seems Ms. Nekonome roped us into this. At least Moka won't fall for it. She's far too bright to let that happen." The door to the classroom suddenly opened and Moka entered. As she entered the room, she noticed its occupants and became visibly happier. "Hello there everyone!"

Another silence fell over the room. Tsukune and Mizore let out very audible sighs and Ame giggled openly. Before Moka could continue any further, Ame stopped her and asked "Were you also forced to join this club by Ms. Nekonome?"

"Wow! Are you psychic?" Moka asked seriously, in a very ditzy way.

Ame couldn't help but laugh at her friend's amazement, while Tsukune and Mizore sighed again. "Moka, we're all in the same boat as you. We couldn't find any good clubs, so Ms. Nekonome forced us to join this one," Tsukune explained to Moka. After she sat down, Tsukune explained the entire situation thus far to Moka.

"So who is this club president, anyway?" Mizore asked out loud.

"That would be me!" shouted a loud and cocky sounding voice from behind the door to the classroom as it slid open. "Hello everyone, and welcome to The Newspaper Club!"

It was Gin. And no one was pleased. "So this is why she was so ambiguous with who the president was. She was afraid if anyone knew that the president was a womanizing moron, they would refuse to join the club," Ame said aloud.

"I'm standing right here!" Gin shouted. He was clearly flustered as Moka was giggling at Ame's comment. Tsukune and Mizore sat quietly at the table taking everything in.

After gaining his composure from being upset, Gin stood up straight and addressed his new club members. "Alright everyone, I'm glad to have you here."

"As I'm sure you are. You're probably looking forward to staring at us," said Moka in a disgusted manner.

A small vein in Gin's head pulsated a little due to his continued verbal abuse. "I assure you that our relationships here will be purely professional. I want to let you know that this club is for getting the latest information on current events that occur on campus. I personally do reconnaissance photography. We need you all to take charge of interviewing students, actively writing stories, and keeping eyes open for anything that goes on. Is that understood?"

Everyone in the room nodded slightly. "Good, now I wanted to also say that you ladies…" was all Gin could say before he was cut off by a sharp knocking at the door. A moment later, it opened and a student walked in. He was very tall, almost the same height as Gin. He was also fair skinned with blonde hair and a slim muscular build. He looked like a professional athlete. After entering the room, he spoke up. "Forgive my intruding, everyone. I was looking for the newspaper club. Have I found the correct room?"

Gin shot a concerned look at the new arrival and sighed dejectedly as Ame and Moka's faces lit up slightly with the arrival of a new person. "Yep, this is the right room. Introduce yourself and find a seat," Gin said with a less energetic tone than usual.

"Hello there everyone. My name is Orion Masanto. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I was a little late transferring into this school, so please have patience with me while I learn the lay of the land," he said with a very suave tone.

He certainly did have a way with words. What he said had Ame and Moka all but enchanted as they stared at him with curiosity. Tsukune was also impressed with his new club mate, but Mizore was cautious of him. She may not have liked Gin because he was a pervert, but this one actually worried her. _There's something I don't like about him. He's too perfect…_ Mizore thought to herself.

Orion quickly took a seat across from Tsukune and listened intently to Gin. Gin grabbed a paper bag and passed it around the room. "Inside are disposable cameras. I know they're not the best quality, but we're working on a tight budget. Anyway, my first assignment for you all is to go out and find a story going on in the school. Find something, take some pictures, and write a couple pages on it by next week. If you have any questions, come find me. Dismissed!" Gin shouted as he grabbed his bag and left the room in an instant.

"Well, that was fast. He must have plenty of peeping to do," Ame said with a slight grin. Everyone in the room but Orion was perfectly accepting of this answer. Orion, however, was chuckling at Ame's remark.

"Oh he surely can't be that type of man, can he?" Orion asked.

"You definitely must be new here," Moka said as she chuckled along with Orion. A moment later, the bell indicating that it was time for lunch rang.

"Orion, we're going to get some food and sit on the roof. Would you like to join us?" Tsukune offered.

Orion smiled warmly and replied, "That would be wonderful, Tsukune."

XXXXXXXXXX

About 15 minutes later, the gang, along with their new club mate, sat on the roof enjoying their lunches. The view was as spectacular as always. The landscape around the school may not have been the liveliest, but the nearby view of the water and clear blue sky made up for it. Tsukune leaned on the railing for support and gazed into the distance.

"Is this a regular thing for you all? To eat lunch up here, I mean," Orion asked as he took in the view that the roof offered.

"Yeah, it's pretty standard. We like coming up here because no one bothers us," Ame said as she began eating her lunch.

"So Orion, where are you from?" Moka asked as she looked at the young man with interest.

"I'm from a small elven village in the mountains south of here. It's a couple days away."

"Does that make you an elf?" Mizore chimed in.

"Yes. Now that I recall, I wasn't supposed to tell you that, was I? May I ask that you all keep that a secret? I don't want to get in trouble on my first day here," Orion said worriedly.

The group chuckled at his concern. "You don't need to worry. We've all got our fair share of secrets," Tsukune said cheerfully. "So, why did you transfer in late? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Orion visibly paused for a moment, deep in thought. It looked like a very sensitive issue was touched. Before Tsukune could retract his question, Orion spoke up. "It's no worry. There were a few issues with my parents deciding where I would attend school. They were unsure if this place was a good fit for me."

Moka then said "It's hard to think that anyone couldn't fit in here. There's no real standard for what you need to be to go to school here," as she gave Tsukune a very sly wink. "But now that I think of it, Elves are a very secretive race, aren't they?"

"That's correct," Orion stated. "Elves have always been a much hated race because of our society's wealth. While I'm not one for such novelties, many of my brothers and sisters live in opulence." Suddenly, everyone was looking at Orion in awe. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Orion, I don't mean to be forward, but are you a prince or something? Or is it normal for elves to be wealthy?" Tsukune asked. Orion couldn't help but laugh at the question.

"Oh no, not at all. I'm just a regular elf. There's nothing special about me," Orion replied as he chuckled at the thought of being royalty. "If I were a prince, you wouldn't need to ask."

"Well, we do hope you enjoy going to school here. In only our first few days, we had quite an adventure ourselves. I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun," Ame said as she giggled at the recollection of her first days at Yokai.

The bell to signal lunch's end then rang.

"Alright then, back to the _fun_ that is math class," Ame said.

Tsukune groaned loudly. "I _hate_ math. The teacher always looks at me funny and I'm pretty sure she has it out for me."

XXXXXXXXX

The next morning was a lot easier for Tsukune to manager. The sound of his alarm was the usual cacophony it always was. This was all probably because he fell asleep right after returning to his room yesterday.

Tsukune gathered all of his things and made his way to school. As he left his dormitory, he was happy to see his friends waiting for his. Ame, Moka and Orion were outside, but Mizore was nowhere to be seen. _She's probably hiding somewhere nearby. Whatever it is, I'm sure she's got a good reason to be there._ Tsukune approached his friends and greeted them. "Hey everyone!"

There was no response to Tsukune's greeting as he approached them. _Ah… they probably just didn't hear me._ Once Tsukune finally reached everyone, Orion turned around to greet him. "Oh good morning Tsukune." The group exchanged their regular morning greetings and made their way to school.

When they arrived at the classroom, Mizore was there waiting for them. She was staring out the window with a very blank look on her face as she moved her lollipop around. She was deep in thought.

"Good morning Mizore!" Tsukune said as he entered the room.

With a sudden jolt, Mizore was yanked from her idle state and realized that Tsukune was speaking to her. She immediately blushed a little and replied, "Good morning Tsukune. How're you?"

"I'm doing well. Where were you this morning?"

"I was speaking with Gin. I had a little idea for something to write an article about and I wanted to run it by him."

"Oh, that sounds awesome! I haven't had any inspiration yet…"

"Don't worry Tsukune, I'm sure you'll come across something interesting to write about. Just give it time," Mizore said as she smiled at him.

A moment later, Ms. Nekonome walked into the room and instructed to the students to get seated so that she could begin class.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Tsukune found himself more focused on his work all day, which is always a good thing. At least, it would've been if it hadn't been for that particular reason. His friends weren't speaking to him as much. Mizore didn't speak often, so that wasn't different. She just stared at Tsukune (which he always noticed and blushed at). However, Moka and Ame were much more preoccupied with Orion. He was a smart student, so he always made a good partner. On top of that, he has a lot of unique interests. He loved practicing archery at home, had taken multiple hikes across mountains with his family, and even knew many languages, both human and monster.

This made Tsukune reflect internally. _What have I done that's interesting? I won a spelling bee in grade school once. That's got to count for something, right?_

Once the day ended, Tsukune approached Ame as she was leaving the classroom. "Ame, do you want to go try to find a story for the newspaper club? I've been having trouble thinking of ideas."

"Sorry, Tsukune. Orion said he would help tutor me in math. Can we possibly do this another time?"

"Oh… yeah, Ame. Not a problem. Have fun!" Tsukune said as he sighed on the inside. _Maybe Moka can help me_. Next, Tsukune approached Moka at her desk and asked, "Moka, do you want to work together to find a story for the newspaper club?"

"Oh, I'd really like to Tsukune, but I've got to go home for a little while today. My father asked me to come by. How about afterwards?" Moka offered apologetically.

"That's fine. Don't feel rushed or anything. We can always do it another day." Tsukune said with a lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "I guess I'll get going. Have fun Moka." Tsukune had thought about asking Mizore for help, but she had already disappeared. She really was quite mysterious.

Tsukune stopped to get his shoes from his locker before leaving for his dorm. When he opened his locker, a small letter fell out. _What's this? I don't think I have any admirers… _Tsukune thought as he open the envelope, hardly able to contain his excitement. It read:

_Tsukune,_

_Could you please meet me by fields south of the gymnasium at 5:00PM? Make sure that you're alone. I don't want anyone hearing what we talk about. _

_Mizore_

_This is weird… she would usually just approach me. Whatever this is, it must be serious. _

Tsukune went back to his dorm to change into more comfortable clothes before he went to meet Mizore. At 4:45, he left his dorm room to go to the field Mizore mentioned.

XXXXXXXXXX

At 5:00PM sharp, Tsukune was at the field Mizore mentioned in her letter. It was unusually dark, but Tsukune was used to weird and unusual behavior at this point. The area was surrounded by thick trees and bushes. There was also grass, which was a little better than the usual skulls and gravestones.

"Mizore, where are you?" he called out. It was quiet for a moment, and then some brush behind him began to rustle. _There she is. _Tsukune was visibly relieved to hear the Mizore was close. The idea of being out late alone on the campus ground was already starting to get to him.

From out of the brush emerged someone much taller than Mizore. It was Orion.

"Orion, what're you doing here?"

"Simply put? I'm here to kill you."


	7. Humanity

**Author's Note:**

**Hello again everyone. Thanks for the continued support. I'm glad that chapter 6 was a little bit better to some of you (at least, that's how I interpret the lack of bad reviews). **

**This chapter will probably be a little shorter in hopes that I can publish a little more frequently, as opposed to making some big widow-maker of a chapter. There's actually a little bit of plot I've been wanting to write for a while in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I promise, there's juiciness ahead!**

Chapter 7: Humanity

Everything suddenly stood still for Tsukune. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"…What?" Tsukune stammered nervously as sweat began to trickle down his forehead slowly.

"Yes, Tsukune. I'm here for you," Orion replied in his normal suave manner. He then slowly stepped closer to Tsukune.

With the first footstep he heard, Tsukune immediately began contemplating his current situation. _I could try running, but I probably wouldn't make it… He's much more athletic than me, and on top of that, he's an elf. _

"Orion, why're you doing this?!" Tsukune blurted out as he took up a defensive position.

Orion sighed heavily. "Are we really going to do this, Tsukune? I suppose I could tell you. It's the least I owe you for such a _lovely_ introduction to your little group of misfits." Suddenly, a black and jagged dagger materialized in Orion's hand.

Tsukune flinched a little at the sight of the weapon's appearance. _If I'm going to talk my way out of this, I've got to do it fast. _

Orion began to play with the dagger, tossing it up and down, and back and forth between his left and right hands. "Well, I guess I should start with a little bit of a confession. When I told you I was an elf, I wasn't entirely truthful with you. You see, I'm actually a night elf. We're a lesser race of elf, compared to our high elf brothers. I was born into poverty, and didn't have a lot as a child. And then one day, my parents up and abandoned me. I guess there's a reason we're such a lesser race, wouldn't you say?"

"Orion, I'm sure there's a perfectly good…" was all Tsukune could say before he was cut off.

"I wasn't finished!" Orion barked at Tsukune.

For a second, in his fit of anger, Tsukune could've sworn that he saw Orion's skin go from the fair complexion he was used to, to a light shade of purple.

Orion pushed his hair back after gaining his composure and continued pacing while playing with his dagger. "After I was abandoned, I was found living on my own by a high elf noble of the area I was born in. He took me in. He cared for me, and I was made a servant. It wasn't all that bad, you see. He was a very caring man, once. He would listen to the worries of his people and help them. But one day, my master became cruel. He stopped helping his people, and confined himself to his castle. And recently, he asked me to come here for you."

"What does your master want with me?!" Tsukune frantically asked.

Upon hearing the question, Orion began to chuckle. "Honestly, Tsukune, I don't know. I expected to come here to find a powerful adversary that could be a large threat. Instead, I found you, the weak and pathetic little human."

Tsukune's eyes widened at that moment. "How did you know that I'm human?"

"Please, I could smell it on you a mile away. Now, I think I've explained myself enough," Orion said as he stopped playing with his dagger and faced Tsukune.

"Wait, Orion! You don't need to go through with this! You can ..." was all Tsukune could say before Orion disappeared before him. In the blink of an eye, Orion reappeared in front of Tsukune and grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the ground.

"Now, I want you to know there's nothing personal about this. If it means anything to you, I actually thought you were pretty nice," Orion said as he held Tsukune in mid-air. The gasping noises emerging from Tsukune's mouth fueled the enjoyment Orion reaped from the act. "Now, I can't lie to you. I'm absolutely going to enjoy this," Orion said as his skin turned from fair white to the purple color that it appeared to be hiding. His hair went from golden blonde to bright silver.

Tsukune's vision was quickly fading to black. _Is this really how it's going to end?_

"Goodbye, Tsukune," Orion said as he drew back his dagger in preparation to strike.

With a loud crash, something bright and clear struck the dagger from Orion's hand and caused it to fall to the ground.

"What nonsense is this? Who else wants to die?!" Orion exclaimed as he dropped Tsukune to the floor to look around for the intruder.

Then the temperature of the surrounding area became extremely cold. From out of a nearby tree, a figure swiftly descended and struck Orion. Orion defended against the strike was his dagger and jumped away.

After gaining his breath, Tsukune looked at his savior. "Mizore! What're you doing here?"

"Saving you, clearly," she responded as she kept her eyes forward on Orion.

"You bitch!" Orion screamed as he gained his footing.

"Tsukune, you need to get out of here right now! He's way too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt!" Mizore screamed back to Tsukune.

"But what about you?" Tsukune frantically asked as he reached his feet.

"Don't worry about me, just go!"

In a blur of motion, Orion appeared between the two of them. "Don't worry, neither of you two are going anywhere." With a swift movement, Orion went to strike Mizore with his dagger. Tsukune attempted to strike Orion from behind, but was met with a swift outward kick which jettisoned Tsukune into the base of a tree.

"Tsukune!" Mizore cried out.

"If I were you, I'd worry about myself right now!" Orion yelled as he directed his full attention to Mizore. He directed a flurry of elegantly executed strikes with his dagger at Mizore as she attempted to defend herself with her ice claws. After being driven back multiple feet, Mizore was overwhelmed by Orion and knocked to the ground. As Orion closed in on Mizore to land a finishing blow, Mizore scooted away on the ground to avoid him.

Orion finally planted Mizore into one spot and prepared to finish her off. As Orion was about to strike, he was blown away by a jet stream of water.

"Mizore, are you alright?" Ame yelled as she approached Mizore to help her up.

"Yeah, he just caught me off guard," Mizore said as she gained her footing.

"Who's that purple guy, anyway?" Ame asked as she scanned the area for Orion.

"That's Orion, and it's a long story. We need to stop him before he hurts Tsukune." Mizore replied.

Ame's eyes widened at the mentioning of Tsukune's name. "Where's Tsukune?!"

The two of them looked around for any trace of him, and found him at the base of a tree where he was struck to by Orion. Before either one could approach him, Orion reemerged from the brush.

"Enough of this 'help your friends' horse shit!" Orion screamed as he put away his dagger. "I'm done playing around. I never did like blades anyway," Orion said as he materialized a new weapon in his hands: a dark colored bow.

Mizore looked to Ame and said "We need to end this quickly."

In agreement, Ame charged to close the distance between her and Orion. Mizore followed closely behind.

Orion quickly knocked two arrows and fired them at Mizore and Ame, but missed as his targets jumped out of the way.

Mizore and Ame reached Orion and struck repeatedly at him as he met each of their attacks with a well-placed block and parry.

Orion then went on the offensive and struck Ame with his bow, disorienting her. As Mizore tried to attack him from behind with her icy claws, Orion deflected her blow and threw her away from the battle.

Ame, growing angry with her opponent, continued to try and break his defense with her watery blade. To no avail, every strike Ame threw at him was deflected.

Orion knocked a different looking arrow and fired at Ame's feet. As the arrow struck the ground, a vortex materialized around Ame and appeared to be holding her prisoner. "I'm going to need you to hang on a second. Handling the two of you at once is becoming annoying."

A few yards away, Tsukune regained consciousness and got to his feet. He was weak, but he could stand. After scanning the area, he found now that Ame and Mizore were both fighting Orion. Ame was near Orion in some kind of containment, and Mizore was only a couple of feet away from himself.

Orion knocked a new kind of arrow. This one was particularly gruesome looking. Whatever he hit with this would surely be in excruciating pain, regardless of where they were hit. "I don't use this one very often. You should feel honored, ice woman…" Orion muttered to himself as he aimed for Mizore and let the arrow go.

Mizore, who was still getting up from her being thrown away from the battle, had yet to notice the arrow closing in on her.

Tsukune noticed this and ran to Mizore's defense. _There's no time, it's going to hit her_ he thought to himself. With every ounce of might left in his body, he ran over to save Mizore.

With a loud thud, the gruesome looking arrow connected with a target. In front of Mizore stood Tsukune. Mizore got up and found Tsukune having taken the hit for him. Tsukune's body fell to the ground.

"Tsukune! Tsukune, are you okay?!" Mizore cried. She feared for her friend's safety, more now than ever. She knew that she would never be able to live with herself if she let something bad happen to Tsukune.

The arrow had hit Tsukune directly under his left peck. It missed his heart, but not by much. However, Tsukune was now screaming in pain.

"Ahhhhh! It burns!" Tsukune yelled at the top of his lungs as he squirmed on the ground. Every vein in his body was on fire, and he couldn't see anything but black. It felt like every inch of his body was being stretched and ripped. It was pure torture.

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to do, but it gets the job done," Orion said as he began to laugh maniacally.

In a fit of rage, Mizore exploded with monster energy as the temperature surrounding her approached sub-zero. She then dashed toward Orion to strike him, but missed as he evaded her attack. However, in missing Orion, she broke the arrow containing Ame inside of the vortex.

Ame, having witnessed Tsukune's injury, was livid. As the vortex containing her was broken, she dashed from where she was and made her way for Orion with a desire for blood. She was fueled by pure anger and would not stop until she could avenge her friend.

"Ame, we need to finish this now!" Mizore screamed as she and Ame continued to attack Orion who evaded all of their attacks. In an attempt to falter Orion's dexterous movement, Mizore froze the ground around the battlefield.

To her relief, Orion became a lot clumsier on this terrain. However, he was able to stay his footing by breaking the ground around his feet.

This was all the time that Ame needed to enact her revenge. With all of her might, she summoned a monstrous column of water to come crashing down on Orion. With the force of a locomotive, Orion was repeatedly smashed by the column as it moved up and down. Finally, the column laid on top of Orion, enveloping him.

In a final act of desperation, Mizore froze the column solid with Orion inside. His body was inanimately contained in the column.

After the dust settled and Orion was no longer a worry, a look of terror shot across Mizore's face. "Tsukune!" she yelled as she and Ame ran for his now limp body.

As they reached him, they were relieved to find he was still alive. However, Tsukune's condition was worsening by the second. His skin was slowly turning a light shade of purple and the wound where the arrow entered his body was bleeding terribly.

Ame stood paralyzed over Tsukune's body as Mizore tried to grab him. "We need to get him to the infirmary now!" Mizore yelled and snapped Ame out of her trance. The two then grabbed him and made off for the school as quickly as their legs would take them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Everything was dark. He could hear voices frantically shouting nearby.

"We need to remove the arrow!" shouted one voice.

"We can't be hasty – he needs surgery. The shape of the arrow is guaranteed to tear away at him if we just pry it out," said another.

"Is he going to be alright?!" one voice shouted. This one sound like Mizore.

"There's no way to be certain. There's poison in his blood, and we need to operate immediately."

Tsukune wasn't aware of what was going on around him. He could only feel the fogginess making him feel heavier and heavier. Finally, everything around him went black and Tsukune faded from consciousness.

XXXXXXXXXX

Finally edging into consciousness, Tsukune awoke to find himself in the school infirmary. At least, it appeared to look like the school. However, it wasn't the same. The usually well lit room was now dark enough to where Tsukune could barely see in front of his hospital bed. The area was now lit by a violet light, and the air was heavy.

A loud knocking sound on the door to the infirmary broke the silence in the room. The door opened and in walked a tall male figure with black slicked back hair. He was very professionally dressed, wearing a white suit.

Tsukune's eyes followed the man as he slowly made his way over to Tsukune's bed. The man's shoes made a very audible clicking sound with each step he took.

Finally, as the man reached Tsukune's bed, he grabbed the medical chart and rested one hand on the bed frame and began to roll his fingers on it.

"Mmm, mmm, hmmm, this doesn't look too good my friend," the stranger spoke up in a voice that sent a chill down Tsukune's spine. "It says here you were poisoned. Pretty bad, too, if I may add."

Tsukune tried to speak up, but his voice was weak. With as much might as he could muster up, Tsukune timidly asked "Who are you?"

The stranger busted out into a controlled fit of laughter. "Oh my goodness, where are my manners? My name's Balthazar," the stranger said as he gave a very polite bow to Tsukune. "And as for why I'm here… well, that's a story for another time. You should be more worried about you right now. Have you looked at yourself lately? You're a mess," Balthazar said as he pointed to Tsukune's now bandaged wound.

The wound under Tsukune's left peck was bandaged well, but it was still very sensitive. The area around the wound looked to be worsening also. Immediately after thinking about it, a searing pain washed over Tsukune for a brief moment, as if his heart had trouble beating.

"That's the poison kicking in, I'd imagine," Balthazar said plainly as he continued to read Tsukune's charts. "Now, don't ask me why, but I'm feeling very generous. I'm well aware of your little condition – being human, that is. Don't ask me how I know, I just have my ways." Balthazar put the chart down and walked up to the side of the bed to be face to face with Tsukune. "What would you say if I could make you strong? You wouldn't need your little girlfriends to fend for you anymore."

"How could you do that?" Tsukune manager to utter in his painful state.

"Oh, it would be easy. I'd pull a few strings, say some magic words, and PRESTO, it's done. It would only cost the small nominal fee of your humanity," Balthazar said with a flurry of gesticulations.

"What?!" Tsukune yelled, but then fell back into a state of pain due to his weakness.

"Yeaaaaah, it's no big deal. Being human is overrated anyway, isn't it? Wouldn't you like to be stronger?" Balthazar asked as he walked his hand slowly over the top of the bed.

As Tsukune was sitting there in pain, the idea briefly crossed his mind. He would love to be able to fend for himself. He felt terrible for needing Ame, Moka, and Mizore to defend him. But at the price of his humanity? What if he turned into some horrible monster? He would never be able to see his family again.

"I don't want your power. I love my friends and family too much to worry them like that… ", Tsukune said as he sat in pain.

"Wow, determined to the end, aren't we?" Balthazar asked in shock. "Well, I hate to see a guy suffer, so I'll do you one good, free of charge," Balthazar said as he held his hand over the wound on Tsukune's chest. As his hand hovered there, a slight tingling sensation occurred inside Tsukune. Then, a sharp pain surged all over his body, and made its way for the wound. It felt as it something was being pulled from the wound barbarically.

After a few moments, Balthazar removed his hand from Tsukune's chest. Immediately, Tsukune felt better, but only slightly.

"What'd you do to me?" Tsukune yelled.

"Feeling better are we? You're welcome," Balthazar said as he sneered. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything bad to you." Balthazar took a couple steps back, turned to the table at Tsukune's side, opened the drawer, and withdrew a bottle of pills. "The offer I gave you still stands, and I know you'll take it eventually. If you ever need me, just think of me and say my name. In the meantime, take two of these," he said as he gestured to the bottle placed on the table. "I'll see you later, Tsukune."

Balthazar left the room and closed the door behind him.

Tsukune sat in his bed and stared at the ceiling as he contemplated what the hell just happened to him. He now vividly recalled the battle with Orion. He remembered now that he was shot with an arrow trying to defend Mizore. _I wonder how they're all doing now… I hope they're okay _Tsukune thought to himself.

Finally, Tsukune reached for the unmarked bottle of pills, took two out, and swallowed them with a cup of water that somehow appeared at his bedside. A few moments later, everything around Tsukune became hazy and he was asleep.


End file.
